gaze
noun
plural gazes
1
: a fixed intent look
a steady gaze
He fixed his gaze out the window.
She lowered/dropped/raised her gaze.
I met his gaze. [=I looked back at him.]
2
: the collective preferences and expectations of a usually privileged social group especially when imposed as a standard or norm on other groups
In 1973, British feminist film writer Laura Mulvey wrote a seminal essay called "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", which explored how mainstream films appealed to a male gaze—a term she coined—because the industry was dominated by men who, inevitably, constructed representations of women from a masculine point of view.—
Kerrie O'Brien
Kerrie O'BrienSo few slots are available for nonwhite writers that those who break through are sometimes themselves charged with … exaggerating elements of their culture for a white gaze; living up to the image that white writers have created for them, the easier to be packaged and sold.—Ligaya Mishan
Ligaya MishanIt looks like a gentle scene of a seaside vacation. But this painting by Berthe Morisot, perhaps the most underrated Impressionist, is a layered vision of a dawning modern age and a rare glimpse at the 19th-century female gaze.—Natasha Frost
Natasha FrostExamples of gaze in a Sentence
She looked at him with a calm, steady gaze.
suddenly aware of her admiring gaze, he became self-conscious and uncomfortable
Recent Examples on the Web
Venus, on the other hand, reaches its highest altitude in the western evening twilight during June for this current apparition and captures the gaze of millions.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 5 June 2026
Renwick’s belief that athleticwear designers were for too long a time absorbed in making men’s lives easier — and efforts to reverse this pattern by turning its gaze towards women — completely revolutionized the industry, which is why the brand is a no-brainer addition to this article.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 4 June 2026
An accompanying photograph shows Glimcher holding the viewer’s gaze, his right hand outstretched on the desk, clenched in a tight fist.
—Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 4 June 2026
Just as various characters in Pine Valley might get front-burner stories for weeks at a time, so too did the Vulgate shift its gaze from one character to another.
—Literary Hub, 3 June 2026
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Joe Rao, Space.com, 5 June 2026
Renwick’s belief that athleticwear designers were for too long a time absorbed in making men’s lives easier — and efforts to reverse this pattern by turning its gaze towards women — completely revolutionized the industry, which is why the brand is a no-brainer addition to this article.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 4 June 2026
An accompanying photograph shows Glimcher holding the viewer’s gaze, his right hand outstretched on the desk, clenched in a tight fist.
—Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 4 June 2026
Just as various characters in Pine Valley might get front-burner stories for weeks at a time, so too did the Vulgate shift its gaze from one character to another.
—Literary Hub, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaze
Cite this Entry
“Gaze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaze. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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