Definition of onlookernext
as in observer
someone who sees or watches something several onlookers gave chase after the thief grabbed the woman's purse

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 onlooker As spectators, we are cursed to be onlookers — powerless to help, despite our desire to. Blake Simons, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2026 But that depiction was picked apart by a vast array of online onlookers, from law enforcement experts to ordinary Instagram users, some of whom replayed the videos frame by frame and zoomed in to show the episode in frightening detail. Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026 Passers-by at Orange County Convention Center became onlookers. Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2026 Hundreds of onlookers gathered on the central Piazza della Repubblica, protected by several Italian police forces, to pay their respects to the couturier after a two-day wake concluded the evening before. Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 23 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for onlooker
Recent Examples of Synonyms for onlooker
Noun
  • One Minnesota immigrant advocacy group reported a threefold increase in the number of people signing up to become legal observers the day after Good was killed by an ICE officer earlier this month.
    Sophia Peyser, CNN Money, 2 Feb. 2026
  • Cars converge on the locations, observers arrive on foot.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Nothing quite compares to the enthusiasm from runners and spectators at the finish line on Boylston Street, every third Monday in April.
    Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 1 Feb. 2026
  • The avant-garde, too, was fascinated by the idea of provoking psychological responses in spectators through art.
    Michael Cowan, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • What started off as a striving novelty turned into something genuinely useful, and YouTube viewers took notice.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 31 Jan. 2026
  • Without exoticizing the location, cinematographer Lasse Ulvedal Tolbølls finds moments to remind the viewer that the locale where the narrative unfolds is in fact an island on the Mediterranean Sea.
    Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 31 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Onlooker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/onlooker. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.

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