Which to use
“fixated” and “fixed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,178
- “fixated” frequency rank
- #2,042
- “fixed” frequency rank
- 33220
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fixated | fixed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of fixate | simple past and past participle of fix |
Where the eye mixes fixated and fixed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fixated and fixed
A purely visual mix-up. fixated (/fɪkˈseɪtɪd/) and fixed (/fɪkst/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33220, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fixated is recorded at frequency rank #31,178, classified as averb, pronounced /fɪkˈseɪtɪd/. fixed is at rank #2,042, tagged as averb, pronounced /fɪkst/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 33220, this pair ranks #331,317 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fixated vs fixed
Shared letters: defix. Private to "fixated": at. Private to "fixed": -.
"fixated" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "fixed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fixated" and "fixed" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "fixated" or "fixed"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fixated" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fixed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #331,317 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fixated" and "fixed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fisted vs fixated". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #331,317 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.