idée fixe

noun

(ˌ)ē-ˌdā-ˈfēks How to pronounce idée fixe (audio)
Definition of idée fixenext
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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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 idée fixe This is perhaps why their partnership remains an idee fixe so many decades later. — Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idée fixe
  1. obsession
  2. fetish
  3. fixation
Noun
  • Billie’s obsession with taking down Priscilla constantly puts her team in peril, because being so laser-focused on one thing clouds the bigger picture.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 15 July 2026
  • As an example, Nunez cites the average teen’s obsession with looks, like when Elsie becomes infatuated with the soirée’s 30-something bartender.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 July 2026
Definition of obsession
Noun
  • So what’s up with the foot fetish?
    — Rachel Tashjian, CNN Money, 26 June 2026
  • An OnlyFans fetish creator, who recorded herself as a 56-year-old client wrapped in Saran wrap suffocated, has been sentenced to four years in prison for the man’s death.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026
Definition of fetish
Noun
  • The role of a maternal, culinarily inclined woman whose put-together image comes under very public strain fits Garner like a glove, which helps in selling slightly absurd details like Hollis’ traumatic fixation on smoke alarms.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 9 July 2026
  • New film Objet a revolves around Ingeborg and Adam, visionary hand surgeons bound by love, control and irresistible fixations.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 July 2026
Definition of fixation

Browse Nearby Words

ideational
idée fixe
idées fixes
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Cite this Entry

“Idée fixe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/id%C3%A9e%20fixe. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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