as in wide
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as in staring
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gaping
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 May 2025
If the absence of Succession has left a dark and gaping hole in your heart, formerly filled by the epic, desperate machinations of the one-percent: tune in.
—
Vogue,
19 July 2024
Sergio Candido,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
The reality of having a curvy body type is that gaping is really hard to avoid when shopping for jeans.
—
Essence Wiley,
InStyle,
3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaping
Adjective
Given that there is no witness to what happened, that leaves a very gaping hole in this investigation.
—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 May 2025
If the absence of Succession has left a dark and gaping hole in your heart, formerly filled by the epic, desperate machinations of the one-percent: tune in.
—
Vogue,
19 July 2024
Verb
Ventura described the injury as a large, gaping wound that was not survivable.
—
Sergio Candido,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
The reality of having a curvy body type is that gaping is really hard to avoid when shopping for jeans.
—
Essence Wiley,
InStyle,
3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaping
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaping
Adjective
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Born in Brooklyn to a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat drew on a wide range of cultural references that shaped both his life and his work.
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The same went for a wide throw from Anthony Volpe, which let Boston score on a potential double play ball in the eighth inning.
Verb
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Beijing — When US and Israeli bombs first began falling on Iran at the end of February, China’s leaders were staring at the very real possibility of another friendly regime being decapitated, much like had happened with Venezuela only weeks before.
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Yesterday, Barack Obama stood in the nearly same spot, now as a former president, staring up at a monument in his name.
Adjective
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As such, anticipated spending cuts have not materialized and British Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announced tax hikes in her next Autumn Budget to fill a yawning fiscal hole that could be as much as £50 billion ($67.2 billion), although estimates vary.
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Yet the shooting also divided the American public in ways that many found disturbing, including a yawning lack of empathy for the victim and even cheering for the shooter.
Verb
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Shoppers are gawking at their climbing receipts as food costs continue to climb.
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This seemingly reflexive action of whipping out their phones while gawking and filming isn’t a novel occurrence.
Adjective
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Some lenders are more exposed than others.
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The outer layers of the star will eventually cool and disperse, leaving a nebula of ex-stellar material surrounding the sun's core, which will then become an exposed cooling stellar remnant called a white dwarf.
Verb
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Years after his dad’s reformation, Jonah sits on a bench at the Broncos’ practice facility in Dove Valley, gazing out at the green expanse of his future.
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The self-reflexive qualities of the work go further, and the film can surely be read as a statement about the limits and possibilities of a totally analogue and backwards-gazing practice.
Cite this Entry
“Gaping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaping. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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