as in staring
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
couldn't help gawking at the exotically dressed guests in the hotel lobby
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Recent Examples of gawking
This seemingly reflexive action of whipping out their phones while gawking and filming isn’t a novel occurrence.
—
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 May 2026
Those are important characteristics for advertisers seeking to make dynamic campaigns for an audience that's grown accustomed to viewing short-form videos on Reels or gawking at cat photos on Facebook and Instagram.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026
On a typical day, the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale reverberates with animal cries and the footfalls of gawking visitors.
—Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Armed soldiers patrolled in droves, spreading hate and fear everywhere, blindfolding children, pointing guns, gawking, spitting, laughing at us like animals in the zoo.
—Literary Hub, 20 Feb. 2026
Setting aside the gawking nature of certain style choices (the warped, swiveling, 360-degree shots used when someone starts talking about particularly demented ideas are nauseating on multiple levels), the series too closely mirrors its subjects’ insularity.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2026
If gawking at celebrities is your thing.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026
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
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
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 May 2026
Those are important characteristics for advertisers seeking to make dynamic campaigns for an audience that's grown accustomed to viewing short-form videos on Reels or gawking at cat photos on Facebook and Instagram.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026
On a typical day, the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale reverberates with animal cries and the footfalls of gawking visitors.
—Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Armed soldiers patrolled in droves, spreading hate and fear everywhere, blindfolding children, pointing guns, gawking, spitting, laughing at us like animals in the zoo.
—Literary Hub, 20 Feb. 2026
Setting aside the gawking nature of certain style choices (the warped, swiveling, 360-degree shots used when someone starts talking about particularly demented ideas are nauseating on multiple levels), the series too closely mirrors its subjects’ insularity.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2026
If gawking at celebrities is your thing.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gawking
Verb
-
So, sometimes silence and solitude is necessary, and just like sitting on a plane watching nothing, doing nothing, just staring blankly at … it's called raw-dogging a flight.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
9 May 2026
-
According to the criminal complaint in that case, a woman at a coffee shop drive-thru reported seeing a man, later identified as Trepanier, at the back of the building with his pants down and masturbating while staring at her.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
Other communities, such as Malibu, have developed ordinances to reduce glare and artificial light, as has Joshua Tree National Park, a star-gazing haven that is designated an International Dark Sky Park.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
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Or, if you'd rather be cocooned in greenery than gazing at the Pacific, one of the two treehouse-style suites nestled in the property's garden is a dreamy alternative.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gawking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gawking. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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