idée fixe

noun

(ˌ)ē-ˌdā-ˈfēks How to pronounce idée fixe (audio)
Definition of idée fixenext
as in obsession
something about which one is constantly thinking or concerned had this bizarre idée fixe that people were spying on her with electromagnetic waves

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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 idée fixe This is perhaps why their partnership remains an idee fixe so many decades later. — Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idée fixe
  1. obsession
  2. fetish
  3. fixation
  4. fascination
Noun
  • Head baker Lou Turner (formerly pastry chef at Obelix, a French bistro in the city’s River North) churns out superb pastries that invite obsession.
    — The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Neece was raised 15 minutes away from Disneyland and developed an obsession with it early on.
    — Emma Madden, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of obsession
Noun
  • Tupper’s Mick, at the mercy of his brittle fetishes, may be the most believable of this quartet.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • The screen is big, the image is sharp and bright, but Nolan’s visual compositions are dull—just pictures of actors acting, without style or poetry—and his fetish for size is just bombast and vanity.
    — Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
Definition of fetish
Noun
  • Each scene includes parallel images, along with between five and 12 convergent fixation image pairs.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Robert also identifies the lustful subtext of Bret’s fixation on Robert and Susan together.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of fixation
Noun
  • And of his fascination in the idea that people might go on living after death, in oblivion.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
  • That personal fascination would eventually shape Big World Pictures’ identity.
    — José Salazar, IndieWire, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of fascination

Browse Nearby Words

ideational
idée fixe
idées fixes
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Cite this Entry

“Idée fixe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/id%C3%A9e%20fixe. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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