as in stares
a fixed intent look
I told him to stop staring, that his rather stupid gape was annoying
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in gazes
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
she suddenly realized she had been gaping at the good-looking waiter instead of giving him her order
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of gapes
Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
Straitjacketed inside the inescapable present, Pearl gapes up to discover that her husband, Walker, has found her; Walker was always going to find her.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gapes
Noun
-
The stares were blank and the handshakes perfunctory, because the Canadians know the value of silver as pertains to this tournament.—
Steve Buckley,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Her vacant stares are laced with just enough recognizable humanity to make the camera question what, if anything, is going on behind her eyes — a mystery that looms over the entire story.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Tuxedoed servers wear playing-card pins on their lapels; a slot machine in the entryway shaped like a life-size Doc Holliday gazes at diners with uncanny intensity.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
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Curving around the glistening, glacial Sarmiento Lake, an amphitheater of rooms gazes up at the Paine massif, with scenes constantly shifting depending on the time of day.—
Sarah Marshall,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
All under the watchful eyes of scouts from 30 of the 32 NFL teams.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Folks of all ages will appreciate the nightly Sirenna ritual, which involves a musical march from the lobby down to the sand, where adults are served a local favorite alcoholic chocolate drink, and kids’ eyes will pop when a mermaid appears through the plexiglass window of the infinity pool.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gapes. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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