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
-
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
-
Curving around the glistening, glacial Sarmiento Lake, an amphitheater of rooms gazes up at the Paine massif, with scenes constantly shifting depending on the time of day.—
Sarah Marshall,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
An antelope on a ridge teasingly stares before bounding off up the rocky hill.—
Julia Sayers Gokhale,
Midwest Living,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The foursome stares at each other for a moment, then Ashley and Austin literally run away.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Austin eyes a new position as an in-house personal trainer, and Lindsay worries about the Chairwoman’s fit assistant, Eunice (Seoyeon Jang), stealing her Korean fitness-enthusiast boyfriend.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The hiring spree comes as the company shifts more aggressively toward enterprise sales and tries to regain momentum against Anthropic and Google, and as the company eyes a possible IPO within the next 12 months.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Ashley considers calling her mom but decides not to.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
-
That this stalemate has dragged on this long has infuriated Levin, who considers keeping the government functioning a basic tenet of Congress’s job.—
Paula Mejía,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
An artist observes carefully, especially things that go unnoticed — and transforms these observations into meaningful expressions.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Stephanie Jocis observes a skiff carrying a missing family in the waters of Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia, during the early hours of April 6, 2026.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Everyone watches too much TV and all that.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Kurtsie also tags along during giraffe feedings and encounters and watches her best friend Bakari interact with caretakers and guests.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
16 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 23 Apr. 2026.
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