FIXATE Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

fixate

verb

Definition of fixate

as in to gaze

to look at or think about something constantly; to give all of your attention to something

—usually + on or upon The cat was fixated on a small hole in the wall. Why do journalists fixate on scandals?

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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 fixate Meyer makes space to laugh, look around, and fixate on the wrong object. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2026 Having entered the business in the 1970s and shepherded clients through the post-2000 tech-wreck and then the global financial crisis, he has lately been fixated on the prospect that the secular bull market that began in 2009 is in its waning phase. — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026 In the eighteenth century, while Russia fixated on conquering Eurasia, Britain developed the steam engine; in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, while Europeans fought over Africa, Americans mastered the assembly line. — Evan Osnos, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026 Several residents who spoke at the meetings characterized the opposition as a vocal minority of residents who have fixated on a few mostly parochial issues. — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 1 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fixate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fixate

Verb

Margaret Keane’s big-eyed children gaze unabashedly at a girl sketched by Pablo Picasso, and cartoonist Rose O’Neill rubs elbows with Vincent van Gogh.

— Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
For example, some sculptures establish sight lines while gazing toward other sculptures—a bronze representation of the messenger god Mercury in the Carter Collection room stares beyond its space to the Bateman Mercury, ca.

— George Baker, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of gaze

Verb

For example, some sculptures establish sight lines while gazing toward other sculptures—a bronze representation of the messenger god Mercury in the Carter Collection room stares beyond its space to the Bateman Mercury, ca.

— George Baker, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Four of the best months of the year, staring us right in our fat faces.

— Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of stare

Verb

The Japanese 10-year yield rose 6 basis points on Tuesday to nudge above 3% for the first time since 1996 as investors eye fiscal pressures in the country’s upcoming budget.

— Jenni Reid, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
The distributor’s event film Legend of the White Dragon is eyeing $529k from limited screenings at 596 theaters.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of eye

Verb

Michigan fans looked dumbfounded and despondent at the Big House, watching what looked like the program’s first loss to a MAC team since 2008.

— Austin Meek, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
The pallid grayness of Mike Eley’s cinematography is probably supposed to mimic the finality of HIV/AIDS taking hold, but there’s no passion aesthetically to counterbalance what becomes absolute misery onscreen to watch.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of watch

Verb

Such an approach runs the risk of gawking at an unfamiliar people, their hegemonies and their ways of life, even with the best intentions.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, site offers visitors a chance to gawk at a vast array of the figurines as well as learn more about their history, and offers bobbleheads for sale.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of gawk

Verb

The film seeks to hold that tension through a deeply human perspective, where observing can also become an act of care.

— Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
As Georgina Kleege has observed in her own later-day reckoning, Keller herself would not have been able to find her way around this house, and Godspeed to any other modern-day blind or DeafBlind person who tried.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of observe

Verb

Anyone with information regarding Bianca’s case is urged to call the San Antonio Police Department at 210-207-7660 or San Antonio Crime Stoppers at 210-224-7867.

— Dateline NBC, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026
The report from the Government Accountability Office found delays and holes in how the Secret Service updates its policies regarding threats, and arrives after a few turbulent years for the agency charged with the president’s protection.

— Jesse Bedayn, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of regard

Browse Nearby Words

fixable

fixate

fixated

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“Fixate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fixate. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of fixate

verb

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