idée fixe

noun

(ˌ)ē-ˌdā-ˈfēks 

plural idées fixes (ˌ)ē-ˌdā-ˈfēks 

: an idea that dominates one's mind especially for a prolonged period : obsession

Did you know?

The term idée fixe is a 19th-century French coinage. French writer Honoré de Balzac used it in his 1830 novella Gobseck to describe an obsessive idea. By 1836, Balzac's more generalized use of the term had carried over into English, where idée fixe was embraced as a clinical and literary term for a persistent preoccupation or delusional idea that dominates a person's mind. Although it is still used in both psychology and music, nowadays idée fixe is also applied to milder and more pedestrian obsessions.

Synonyms

• fetish
• fetich
• fixation
• mania
• obsession
• preoccupation
• prepossession

Examples of idée fixe in a Sentence

had this bizarre idée fixe that people were spying on her with electromagnetic waves

Recent Examples on the Web

This is perhaps why their partnership remains an idee fixe so many decades later. —Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2021

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, fixed idea

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

idée fixe

noun

(ˌ)ē-ˌdā-ˈfēks 

plural idées fixes -ˈfēks(-əz) 

: an idea that takes over a person's mind

Etymology

French, literally "fixed idea"

Medical Definition

idée fixe

noun

(ˌ)ē-ˌdā-ˈfēks

plural idées fixes

-ˈfēks(-əz)

: a usually delusional idea that dominates the whole mental life during a prolonged period (as in certain mental disorders)

called also fixed idea