fixation

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /fɪkˈseɪʃən/ UK /fɪkˈseɪʃən/ See IPA manual

Freq #24054

Meanings

1

noun
an intense or obsessive preoccupation with a person, idea, or thing

His fixation on minor errors prevented him from finishing the report.
2

noun
the act of fixing, setting, or fastening something in a definite position or at a definite value

The law transferred fixation of the interest rate from local officials to the central council.
3

noun
the preservation and stabilization of biological tissue for microscopic examination

Rapid fixation preserved the tissue before the laboratory prepared the slides.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an intense or obsessive... obsession preoccupation mania

2 noun · the act of fixing, setting,... fixing setting fastening

3 noun · the preservation and... tissue preservationfixing

Opposites

indifference release flexibility

Word family

Derived forms fixational

Related forms fix fixate fixed

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

nitrogen fixation
the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into compounds that living organisms can use

Noun + noun

Etymology

From French fixation and Medieval Latin fixatio, from Latin fixus ('fastened, fixed'), the past participle of figere ('to fasten'). The psychological sense treats attention as if it were fastened to one object.

Topics

People & Society

External links

# fixation

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /fɪkˈseɪʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /fɪkˈseɪʃən/
**Frequency rank:** 24054

## Meanings
1. an intense or obsessive preoccupation with a person, idea, or thing
2. the act of fixing, setting, or fastening something in a definite position or at a definite value
3. the preservation and stabilization of biological tissue for microscopic examination

## Examples
- His fixation on minor errors prevented him from finishing the report.
- The law transferred fixation of the interest rate from local officials to the central council.
- Rapid fixation preserved the tissue before the laboratory prepared the slides.

## Synonyms
- obsession
- preoccupation
- fixing
- setting
- fastening

## Antonyms
- indifference
- release
- flexibility

## Derived Forms
- fixational

## Related Forms
- fix
- fixate
- fixed

## Etymology
From French fixation and Medieval Latin fixatio, from Latin fixus ('fastened, fixed'), the past participle of figere ('to fasten'). The psychological sense treats attention as if it were fastened to one object.

## Topics
- People & Society

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