GAWKING Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of gawking Such an approach runs the risk of gawking at an unfamiliar people, their hegemonies and their ways of life, even with the best intentions. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026 On most days the Jewel House in the Tower of London is packed with tourists gawking at the fabled British Crown Jewels. — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gawking

Verb

While everyone else is staring at dot plots and hanging on Jensen Huang's every utterance, Illumina (ILMN) has been quietly doing what good charts do.

— Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
But that’s not how the VAR system works, because the Premier League fears that every key decision would end with the ref staring at the pitchside monitor.

— Graham Scott, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of staring

Verb

Lodging options include houseboats along the banks of the Kennebunk River with private rooftop decks for gazing at the autumnal views.

— Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
Geese’s lead singer, Cameron Winter, is stretched out at full length on a comfortable chair in another corner of the room, gazing intently at a phone with a single large crack marring its screen.

— Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of gazing

Browse Nearby Words

gawkiness

gawking

gawkish

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Gawking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gawking. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of gawking

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

aggrandize

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18

Popular

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes