Synonyms of gawking

gawking

verb

present participle of gawk

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• staring
• gazing
• peering
• gaping
• gawping
• goggling
• rubbernecking
• glaring
• blinking
• watching
• ogling
• gloating
• leering
• glowering
• fixating
• eyeing
• perusing
• observing
• studying
• considering
• regarding
• staring down
• poring (over)
• outfacing
• outstaring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• glancing
• peeking
• peeping
• scanning
• browsing
• glimpsing
• dipping (into)
• winking (at)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of gawking

Instead, the skin-frying Friday saw common flow of people going through, gawking at the large screens and a group of sailors allowing some passing by to do pull-ups from a bar. — Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 3 July 2026

The walk to the stadium is a mile or so along the Alaskan Way, where restaurants like the Crab Pot are opening up, but everyone is gawking at the street spectacle. — Simon Hughes, New York Times, 24 June 2026

Shoppers are gawking at their climbing receipts as food costs continue to climb. — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 8 June 2026

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