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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Recent Examples of fixating
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
Perhaps, then, fixating on the ground rules, like Nelson did, isn’t the right approach.
—Quanta Magazine, 29 Apr. 2026
Worrying about chip speed is like fixating on a car’s horsepower; most people will never even come close to needing maximum power or speed.
—Larry Magid, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
Hormendy also cautioned the media about fixating on distraction.
—Jeff Capellini, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
No surprise, then, that Kim is initially skeptical of Sean’s conspiracy theories, assuming her aimless husband to be fixating on trivial nonsense.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 16 Mar. 2026
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
Perhaps, then, fixating on the ground rules, like Nelson did, isn’t the right approach.
—Quanta Magazine, 29 Apr. 2026
Worrying about chip speed is like fixating on a car’s horsepower; most people will never even come close to needing maximum power or speed.
—Larry Magid, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
Hormendy also cautioned the media about fixating on distraction.
—Jeff Capellini, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
No surprise, then, that Kim is initially skeptical of Sean’s conspiracy theories, assuming her aimless husband to be fixating on trivial nonsense.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 16 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fixating
Verb
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Beijing — When US and Israeli bombs first began falling on Iran at the end of February, China’s leaders were staring at the very real possibility of another friendly regime being decapitated, much like had happened with Venezuela only weeks before.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
20 June 2026
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Yesterday, Barack Obama stood in the nearly same spot, now as a former president, staring up at a monument in his name.—
Josh Feldman,
NBC news,
19 June 2026
Verb
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Years after his dad’s reformation, Jonah sits on a bench at the Broncos’ practice facility in Dove Valley, gazing out at the green expanse of his future.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
21 June 2026
-
The self-reflexive qualities of the work go further, and the film can surely be read as a statement about the limits and possibilities of a totally analogue and backwards-gazing practice.—
Sam Bodrojan,
IndieWire,
17 June 2026
Verb
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Shoppers are gawking at their climbing receipts as food costs continue to climb.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
8 June 2026
-
This seemingly reflexive action of whipping out their phones while gawking and filming isn’t a novel occurrence.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Cinematographer Meteor Cheung doesn’t need to do much more than park his camera on a tripod and pan it side to side, occasionally looking down in alarm like a librarian peering over her glasses.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
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This 82-minute true crime documentary focuses on the killing and its aftermath while also peering into the years leading up to Blanchard's demise.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 June 2026
Verb
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Political analysts will also be closely watching the dynamic between Colombia and Venezuela.—
David Unsworth,
FOXNews.com,
23 June 2026
-
There are various theories, but there's a certain amount of this kind of behavior that definitely bears watching.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
23 June 2026
Verb
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Satellite, rocket and robotics startups are in testing Outside of the trillion-dollar-plus tech stock universe, several startups are also eyeing the skies.—
Bob Woods,
CNBC,
21 June 2026
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Like others in her party, Kamlager-Dove is eyeing the upcoming midterms as a moment for potential change.—
Ximena Bustillo,
NPR,
20 June 2026
Verb
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Barriere grew up observing the emancipation day in Houston and Western Louisiana, where Juneteenth parties were ubiquitous.—
Sheeka Sanahori - For the AJC,
AJC.com,
19 June 2026
-
For the first time ever, the discovery of a shallow-water feeding ground has made observing this behavior possible.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
18 June 2026
Verb
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The 400 itself was replaced by the 500 a couple of years back, and that meant Kawasaki had a gaping gap in its sportsbike lineup.—
Utkarsh Sood
June 13,
New Atlas,
13 June 2026
-
There’s a gaping hole at the second-line center position behind Nick Suzuki.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
13 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fixating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fixating. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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