fixate

views updated

fix·ate / ˈfikˌsāt/ • v. [tr.] 1. (usu. be fixated on/upon) cause (someone) to acquire an obsessive attachment to someone or something: she has for some time been fixated on photography. ∎  [intr.] (fixate on/upon) acquire such an obsessive attachment to: it is important not to fixate on animosity. ∎  (in Freudian theory) arrest (a person or their libidinal energy) at an immature stage, causing an obsessive attachment.2. technical direct one's eyes toward: subjects fixated a central point [intr.] there is tendency to fixate near the beginning of the line of print.

More From encyclopedia.com