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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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
  4. fascination
Noun
  • Head baker Lou Turner (formerly pastry chef at Obelix, a French bistro in the city’s River North) churns out superb pastries that invite obsession.
    — The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Neece was raised 15 minutes away from Disneyland and developed an obsession with it early on.
    — Emma Madden, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of obsession
Noun
  • Tupper’s Mick, at the mercy of his brittle fetishes, may be the most believable of this quartet.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • The screen is big, the image is sharp and bright, but Nolan’s visual compositions are dull—just pictures of actors acting, without style or poetry—and his fetish for size is just bombast and vanity.
    — Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
Definition of fetish
Noun
  • Relevant features may include a need for recognition, black-and-white moral reasoning, limited empathy and sustained fixation.
    — Control Risks, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Recent developments have made new an old idea that emerged among nineteenth-century intellectuals in tsarist Russia who rebelled against the elite fixation with the West.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of fixation
Noun
  • Stapley’s own fascination with the art of the con began after her mother was conned out of her life savings.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Show creator Quinn Shephard told Netflix’s Tudum that her love for Y2K teen movies and erotic thrillers like Carrie, Jennifer’s Body and Heavenly Creatures, as well as her fascination with the Salem witch trials, inspired her to write The Body.
    — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of fascination

Browse Nearby Words

ideational
idée fixe
idées fixes
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Idée fixe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/id%C3%A9e%20fixe. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of southpaw

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All