as in gazes
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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Recent Examples of fixates
The national debate on healthcare costs often fixates on single solutions.
—
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 17 Apr. 2026
Like Rear Window, Dial M for Murder fixates on the intersections between romance, paranoia, and curiosity.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Apr. 2026
Of course, the internet fixates on the moment, with many TikTok commenters focussing on the age difference between Aaron and his step-daughters Angelica and Jessie Jopling.
—Glamour, 1 Feb. 2026
When a person fixates on a target, their retina captures visual information and sends it to the brain via the optic nerve.
—Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026
Annie, who was abandoned by her mother, fixates on the idea of finding her once again.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Her character, Agnes, is introduced to these ideas after connecting with Peter, a Gulf War veteran who fixates on a bug problem in her hotel room as part of a larger theory about surveillance.
—Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 5 Jan. 2026
Who would blame them for assuming that a woman who fixates on where her novels are placed at an airport bookstore cares about money and material things?
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025
The video shows Zarutska sit in a seat in front of Brown, who fixates on her and after several minutes pulls out a knife and stabs her several times in the neck, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
—Danielle Battaglia, Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2025
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 17 Apr. 2026
Like Rear Window, Dial M for Murder fixates on the intersections between romance, paranoia, and curiosity.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Apr. 2026
Of course, the internet fixates on the moment, with many TikTok commenters focussing on the age difference between Aaron and his step-daughters Angelica and Jessie Jopling.
—Glamour, 1 Feb. 2026
When a person fixates on a target, their retina captures visual information and sends it to the brain via the optic nerve.
—Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026
Annie, who was abandoned by her mother, fixates on the idea of finding her once again.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Her character, Agnes, is introduced to these ideas after connecting with Peter, a Gulf War veteran who fixates on a bug problem in her hotel room as part of a larger theory about surveillance.
—Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 5 Jan. 2026
Who would blame them for assuming that a woman who fixates on where her novels are placed at an airport bookstore cares about money and material things?
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025
The video shows Zarutska sit in a seat in front of Brown, who fixates on her and after several minutes pulls out a knife and stabs her several times in the neck, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
—Danielle Battaglia, Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fixates
Verb
-
All three writers turned loving, humorous, piercing gazes on a particular place, exploring, through cycles of plays, the rich humanity and the grave historical wounds of its inhabitants.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Peasants whisper about monsters in the forest, and in the interlude between the wars, Lajos gazes at a house that is burning down and has a premonition of the world-historical destruction to come.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Michael stares at his image without showing much interest.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
23 Apr. 2026
-
An antelope on a ridge teasingly stares before bounding off up the rocky hill.—
Julia Sayers Gokhale,
Midwest Living,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Microsoft still retains its equity stake in OpenAI’s for-profit company, as that company eyes a possible IPO later this year.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Bright’s ‘Wellsy’ asks Garrett Graham at a party as Josh Heuston’s Justin Kohl eyes her and nods, beer in hand.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The authors looked at all sizes of flooding and examined separately what FEMA considers the most extreme, which are the top 1% of events.—
Seth Borenstein,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
-
New work by Scerri and her colleagues considers an additional force that may have had a lasting influence — disease.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As Van Young observes, the crooked governor here is a symptom, not a symbol.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
-
An artist observes carefully, especially things that go unnoticed — and transforms these observations into meaningful expressions.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The scene where Niall watches Ruben dancing in their bedroom, was that choreographed?—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Even if a fraction of the clip audience watches or listens to the entirety of something, that audience tends to be very engaged and usually motivated to pay for that content.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Straitjacketed inside the inescapable present, Pearl gapes up to discover that her husband, Walker, has found her; Walker was always going to find her.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The beauty of this method is that the camera only blinks every 30 seconds.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
14 Apr. 2026
-
When a media company acquires another media company, nobody blinks.—
Jonathan Hunt,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fixates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fixates. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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