Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
verb (used with object), fix·at·ed, fix·at·ing.
- to fix; make stable or stationary.
verb (used without object), fix·at·ed, fix·at·ing.
- to become fixed.
- Psychoanalysis. to develop a fixation; suffer an arrest in one’s emotional or sexual development.
verb
- to become or cause to become fixed
- to direct the eye or eyes at a point in space so that the image of the point falls on the centre (fovea) of the eye or eyes
- psychol to engage in fixation
- (tr; usually passive) informal to obsess or preoccupy
1885, “to fix, make stable,” from fix (v.) + -ate. Meaning “to gaze upon” is from 1889. Psychological sense is from 1926, originally in Freudian theory, in this case perhaps a back-formation from fixation. Related: Fixated; fixating.
v.
- To make fixed, stable, or stationary.
- To focus one’s eyes or attention on something.
- To develop a fixation; become excessively attached to a person or thing.