fixation

Plural: fixations

Noun

• An obsessive preoccupation; the act of making stable.
• an abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely
• an unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone
• the activity of fastening something firmly in position
• (histology) the preservation and hardening of a tissue sample to retain as nearly as possible the same relations they had in the living body
• The act of fixing.
• The state of being fixed or fixated.
• The act of uniting chemically with a solid substance or in a solid form; reduction to a non-volatile condition; -- said of volatile elements.
• The act or process of ceasing to be fluid and becoming firm.
• In metals, a state of resistance to evaporation or volatilization by heat.
• A state of mind involving obsession with a particular person, idea, or thing.
• A state of mind involving obsession with a particular person, idea, or thing.
• A sexual fetish or turn-on.
• Recording a creative work in a medium of expression for more than a transitory duration, thereby satisfying the "fixation" requirement for the purposes of copyright law.
• The change in a gene pool from a situation where there exists at least two variants of a particular gene (allele) to a situation where only one of the alleles remains.
• preservation of biological tissues from decay due to autolysis or putrefaction.
• process by which an injury is rendered immobile.
• maintaining of the gaze on a single location.

Examples

• His FIXATION on playing only 7-letter words sometimes cost him the game.
• In order to obtain copyright on a recording in the United States, the recording must have been reduced to fixation on or after February 15, 1972.

Synonyms

arrested development, fixing, infantile fixation, obsession, regression, fixedness

Antonyms

change, movement