as in obsession
something about which one is constantly thinking or concerned
had this bizarre idée fixe that people were spying on her with electromagnetic waves
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Recent Examples of idée fixe
This is perhaps why their partnership remains an idee fixe so many decades later.
—
Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2021
Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idée fixe
Noun
-
In Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, Gomez, 33, plays Mabel, who befriends two of her neighbors — Charles (Steve Martin) and Oliver (Martin Short) — who share her obsession with true crime podcasts.—
Brianne Tracy,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Skinny Pedro’s obsession might therefore derive from some sort of insanity.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Mikomi sees images generated by Grok of her wearing specific fetish outfits, or her body contorted or placed in strange contexts.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
7 Jan. 2026
-
In addition, the creation of the fetishes, with their bits of bone, dirt, plants, and other objects, also unnerved enslavers and colonists.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Liotus says, referring to the Boston socialite with the Venice fixation.—
Wendy Goodman,
Curbed,
10 Jan. 2026
-
May’s fixations include fragmented narratives, portraits of place, boundaries and borders, and collective memory.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idée fixe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/id%C3%A9e%20fixe. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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