fixate

fix·ate  (fkst)

v. fix·at·ed, fix·at·ing, fix·ates

v.tr.

1. To make fixed, stable, or stationary.

2. To focus one's eyes or attention on: fixate a faint object.

3. To command the attention of exclusively or repeatedly; preoccupy obsessively: "TV and newspapers were fixated on high-technology as the solution to almost everything" (Jay Walljasper).

4. Psychology

a. To attach (oneself) to a person or thing in an immature or neurotic fashion.

b. In classical psychoanalysis, to cause (the libido) to be arrested at an early stage of psychosexual development.

v.intr.

1. To focus the eyes or attention.

2. Psychology

a. To become attached to a person or thing in an immature or pathological way; form a fixation.

b. To be arrested at an early stage of psychosexual development.

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fixate [ˈfɪkseɪt]

vb

1. to become or cause to become fixed

2. 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

3. (Psychology) Psychol to engage in fixation

4. (tr; usually passive) Informal to obsess or preoccupy

[from Latin fixus fixed + -ate¹]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	fixate - attach (oneself) to a person or thing in a neurotic way; "He fixates on his mother, even at the age of 40" bind, bond, attach, tie - create social or emotional ties; "The grandparents want to bond with the child"
	2.	fixate - pay attention to exclusively and obsessively; "The media are fixating on Princess Diana's death" advert, give ear, pay heed, attend, hang - give heed (to); "The children in the audience attended the recital quietly"; "She hung on his every word"; "They attended to everything he said"
	3.	fixate - make fixed, stable or stationary; "let's fix the picture to the frame" fix attach - cause to be attached
	4.	fixate - become fixed (on); "Her eyes fixated on a point on the horizon" settle on freeze, stop dead - stop moving or become immobilized; "When he saw the police car he froze"

Translations

fixate [fɪkˈseɪt]

A. VT [+ point] → fijar la atención en

B. VI to fixate on sth/sb → obsesionarse con algo/algn