FIXATING Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

fixating

verb

present participle of fixate

as in staring

to look at or think about something constantly; to give all of your attention to something

—usually + on or upon The cat was fixated on a small hole in the wall. Why do journalists fixate on scandals?

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of fixating The ear popping and discomfort caused by changing cabin pressure may be completely normal, but knowing that doesn’t necessarily stop you from fixating on it. — Brandon Schultz, Travel + Leisure, 21 Aug. 2026 Robbins recommends watching trends over weeks and months rather than fixating on last night’s number. — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 July 2026 This move also reveals more about billionaire philanthropy than only fixating on the tax issue. — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 30 July 2026 Next year’s draft is also why there’s no point in fixating on wins and losses this season. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 13 July 2026 This is Leeds taking care of today, rather than fixating on tomorrow and the potential of a player. — David Ornstein, New York Times, 24 June 2026 People are fixating on celebrities of all kinds, accusing singers of body-positive anthems of being hypocritical, rolling their eyes at athletes promoting weight loss drugs and whispering about the thinness of their favorite movie stars. — Sara Moniuszko, USA Today, 29 May 2026 Trump began fixating on beef prices last fall, proposing in October 2025 to increase Argentine beef imports, drawing pushback from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Republican senators from cattle states. — Alicia Park, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026 Rather than fixating on what was lost or what could come next, Park made a conscious decision to focus on what was in front of her. — Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 11 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fixating

Verb

Finkelstein is also part of another program that will attempt to re-create Hubble and JWST’s famous deep-field images, which revealed millions of previously unseen galaxies by staring at seemingly empty patches of sky.

— Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 27 Aug. 2026
When producer Robert Stigwood initially approached him about staring in the Sgt.

— Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of staring

Verb

Their mornings begin with coffee and toast on the deck, gazing over the village rooftops to the ocean.

— Barbara Bry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026
Deployed in 2004, the Swift Observatory spent over two decades gazing into some of the universe’s most powerful explosions.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of gazing

Verb

On most days the Jewel House in the Tower of London is packed with tourists gawking at the fabled British Crown Jewels.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
Instead, the skin-frying Friday saw common flow of people going through, gawking at the large screens and a group of sailors allowing some passing by to do pull-ups from a bar.

— Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 3 July 2026

Definition of gawking

Verb

After some major modifications, it's set to begin its five-year mission peering at new supernovas, distant galaxies and planets orbiting stars outside our solar system.

— Berly McCoy, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
On stage, the audience is the camera, peering into a cutaway of set designer Fly Davis’ ominous, two-story house, lit with foreboding foreshadowing by Anna Watson.

— Frank Rizzo, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of peering

Verb

Instead, he’s spent August anxiously watching the orange skies from his house in the northern Nevada hills through two consecutive and adjacent wild-land fires, the Bug and Hawk Fires.

— Anya Kamenetz, Curbed, 28 Aug. 2026
Owen Wolff, 21, was just a small child back then, watching his father play for MLS glory and represent America with the United States Men’s National Team.

— PJ Green August 28, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of watching

Verb

Not wanting to go through a repeat of uncertainty for FY27, Roman mission management began eyeing faster routes to the launch pad.

— Josh Dinner, Space.com, 27 Aug. 2026
The boom has in turn pushed companies to IPO, including Chinese champion DeepSeek, which the South China Morning Post reported is eyeing a 2027 debut.

— Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of eyeing

Verb

The violations on the report include employees not having a food handler card, as well as no drain plugs being seen when observing the plumbing.

— Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026
With the capability of observing the cosmos with a wide field of view, Roman will generate first-of-their-kind images to help astronomers explore some of the greatest mysteries, including the unexplained expansion of the universe, according to NASA.

— Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of observing

Verb

As positive as the opening-weekend performance against Liverpool was, Newcastle lacked any sort of authority in midfield, where there were gaping holes at time.

— Chris Waugh, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Tubes from hospital equipment were still attached to his face, gunshot wounds on his right side were still gaping, and tattoos which included a gun and a bullet casing were still embedded in his skin, a permanent memorial to the tools of his demise.

— Andy Rose, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026