FIXATING Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

fixating

verb

present participle of fixate

as in staring

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 fixating Robbins recommends watching trends over weeks and months rather than fixating on last night’s number. — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 July 2026 This move also reveals more about billionaire philanthropy than only fixating on the tax issue. — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 30 July 2026 Next year’s draft is also why there’s no point in fixating on wins and losses this season. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 13 July 2026 This is Leeds taking care of today, rather than fixating on tomorrow and the potential of a player. — David Ornstein, New York Times, 24 June 2026 People are fixating on celebrities of all kinds, accusing singers of body-positive anthems of being hypocritical, rolling their eyes at athletes promoting weight loss drugs and whispering about the thinness of their favorite movie stars. — Sara Moniuszko, USA Today, 29 May 2026 Trump began fixating on beef prices last fall, proposing in October 2025 to increase Argentine beef imports, drawing pushback from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Republican senators from cattle states. — Alicia Park, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026 Rather than fixating on what was lost or what could come next, Park made a conscious decision to focus on what was in front of her. — Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 11 May 2026 But Adams had a habit of fixating on his mistakes. — New York Daily News, 9 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fixating

Verb

Some edits of the clip show the character in black-and-white, staring at the camera, emulating a horror movie scene.

— Owen Carry, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2026
Some of them still live in cabins and grow their own food and others spend their days staring at Microsoft Office screens, but versions of the spontaneous hippie archetype still live on within each of them.

— Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of staring

Verb

Bored staffers spent endless hours gazing at their phones, leading supervisors to restrict phone use.

— Jesse Coburn, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2026
The first image shows the mother-of-two enjoying a moment of calm outside, wearing a pair of pale jeans and a blue striped shirt, gazing thoughtfully into the distance.

— Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of gazing

Verb

Instead, the skin-frying Friday saw common flow of people going through, gawking at the large screens and a group of sailors allowing some passing by to do pull-ups from a bar.

— Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 3 July 2026
The walk to the stadium is a mile or so along the Alaskan Way, where restaurants like the Crab Pot are opening up, but everyone is gawking at the street spectacle.

— Simon Hughes, New York Times, 24 June 2026

Definition of gawking

Verb

On a recent Thursday afternoon, an optometrist named Marina Su was peering into the eyes of Martha Infante, a forty-one-year-old mother and kitchen designer.

— E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2026
Surveying the world from the cab of a Hummer EV feels like peering out from a fortress turret.

— Andrew P. Collins, The Drive, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of peering

Verb

Though Wisconsin is currently held by a Democratic governor, Republicans are hoping to take back the seat this November, riding the coattails of Trump flipping the state in 2024 and eyeing the possible opportunity to take on socialist Hong.

— Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 12 Aug. 2026
Chip giant Nvidia is eyeing the possibility of turning its artificial intelligence chips into Wall Street's newest asset class.

— Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of eyeing

Verb

For more information, check out our guide to observing the sun safely.

— Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 12 Aug. 2026
The hubbub from the restaurant immediately stops for a moment (with Ninh observing the loud pot smash from an open doorway), before the patrons soon enough resume their conversations at basically the exact same noise level.

— Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of observing

Verb

To look through their gaping windows and imagine what that same view, in summer or winter, must have looked like more than a century ago.

— Téa Obreht, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Aug. 2026
And taking a five-time Gold Glover out of the hot corner left a gaping hole in the Giants’ defense.

— Devin Bradshaw, Mercury News, 8 Aug. 2026