idée fixe

noun

(ˌ)ē-ˌdā-ˈfēks How to pronounce idée fixe (audio)
Definition of idée fixenext
as in obsession
something about which one is constantly thinking or concerned had this bizarre idée fixe that people were spying on her with electromagnetic waves

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of idée fixe This is perhaps why their partnership remains an idee fixe so many decades later. — Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idée fixe
  1. obsession
  2. fetish
  3. fixation
Noun
  • What makes brisket unique is that its price increase has coincided with an explosion in demand, driven by an almost cult-like obsession with barbecue over the past several years.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Aug. 2026
  • In Kris’ case, that obsession was with Camp Miasma, its tortured villain Little Death, and the oversexualized victims who ended up on the other end of Little Death’s spear, terrible sequel after terrible sequel.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of obsession
Noun
  • Tupper’s Mick, at the mercy of his brittle fetishes, may be the most believable of this quartet.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • The screen is big, the image is sharp and bright, but Nolan’s visual compositions are dull—just pictures of actors acting, without style or poetry—and his fetish for size is just bombast and vanity.
    — Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
Definition of fetish
Noun
  • Despite the rabid fixation upon the concept of trans women in sports, those who beat the drum the loudest for exclusive policies rarely seem to care about trans people themselves.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • But there was a kind of bemusement with our fascination with the Wild West and our fixation on cowboys, and a sense that America has gone off the rails.
    — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of fixation

Browse Nearby Words

ideational
idée fixe
idées fixes
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Cite this Entry

“Idée fixe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/id%C3%A9e%20fixe. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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