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
David Pogue, CBS News, 30 June 2024
While fentanyl can easily cause a deadly overdose, the addition of xylazine further slows breathing and can result in painful, gaping and disfiguring wounds on the user's body.
—Erika Edwards, NBC News, 11 July 2023
Liam Tharme, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
And parenting without a mom leaves a gaping hole for many since mothers often provide instrumental support and emotional scaffolding needed in the postpartum period.
—Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gaping
Adjective
And that is just a gaping fundamental hole with the entire structure.
—David Pogue, CBS News, 30 June 2024
While fentanyl can easily cause a deadly overdose, the addition of xylazine further slows breathing and can result in painful, gaping and disfiguring wounds on the user's body.
—Erika Edwards, NBC News, 11 July 2023
Verb
Centre-back Eric Garcia, dragged wide to cover, left a gaping hole for Mendes to drive through with the ball.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
And parenting without a mom leaves a gaping hole for many since mothers often provide instrumental support and emotional scaffolding needed in the postpartum period.
—Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gaping
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaping
Adjective
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Madani also said that the collapse of basic infrastructure could spark wider unrest.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
10 Nov. 2025
-
This could make for an intriguing shootout between Maye and Baker Mayfield, who is playing the best ball of his career and has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers off to a 6-2 start despite rampant injuries along his offensive line and wide receiving unit.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Below-average play is often staring you right in the face while catastrophe lurks around the corner.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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The face in question, below, involves Sherman staring with her mouth agape.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Jan. 2026
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.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
30 Sep. 2025
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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.—
Patrik Jonsson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
10 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Here, astronomers are gawking at a radio signal that appears crudely on the screen like a crooked game of Pong but turns out to be a line of data repeated every 78 seconds from 600 light-years away.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
7 Nov. 2025
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But the cringe-comedy antics of the original NBC series landed far better in Season 3 than in Season 1, once audiences began to truly love the characters instead of just gawking at them.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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During that intrusion, the attacker discovered an exposed API that could be used to access customer information linked to 700Credit's dealership clients.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
29 Dec. 2025
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America is entering 2026 with a health system that is more politically exposed, more unequal, and more unstable than at any time in recent memory.—
Uché Blackstock,
Time,
23 Dec. 2025
Verb
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After LaRavia made 10 of 11 shots to introduce himself to fans and Minnesota star Anthony Edwards, the Lakers’ general manager splashed a photo of LaRavia gazing out of a window on the front page of a faux newspaper and printed it on a black T-shirt.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
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In the touching clip, the pair embraced each other while gazing at a sunny, scenic view.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gaping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaping. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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