fixation

UK: /fɪkˈseɪʃ^ən/ US: /fɪkˈseɪʃən/ ,(fik sā′shən)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

fix•a•tion /fɪkˈseɪʃən/   n. [countable]

1. a preoccupation with one subject;
   obsession:
   has a fixation about becoming fat.

See -fix-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

fix•a•tion  (fik sā′shən), n. 

1. the act of fixing or the state of being fixed.
2. Chemistry
   • reduction from a volatile or fluid to a stable or solid form.
   • the process of converting atmospheric nitrogen into a useful compound, as a nitrate fertilizer.
3. [Photog.] the process of rendering an image permanent by removal of light-sensitive silver halides.
4. Psychiatry a partial arrest of emotional and instinctual development at an early point in life, due to a severe traumatic experience or an overwhelming gratification.
5. a preoccupation with one subject, issue, etc.;
   obsession:
   All her life she had a fixation on stories of violent death.

• Medieval Latin fixātiōn- (stem of fixātiō) a reduction to a fixed state. See fix, -ation
• Middle English fixacion 1350–1400

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

fixation / fɪkˈseɪʃən/ noun

1. the act of fixing or the state of being fixed
2. a preoccupation or obsession
3. (in psychoanalytical schools) a strong attachment of a person to another person or an object in early life
4. the conversion of nitrogen in the air into a compound, esp a fertilizer
5. the reduction of a substance from a volatile or fluid form to a nonvolatile or solid form