gawping

verb

present participle of gawp, chiefly British
as in staring
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise tourists in London gawping at royalty

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 gawping In response, the women maneuvered their craft behind some brush, hiding from the soldiers gawping at them from the bank. — Literary Hub, 26 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gawping
  1. staring
  2. gawking
  3. gazing
Verb
  • Instead of everybody facing one direction staring at the DJ, Savage wants the environment to be about the ambiance, the music, and the people in the space, not just who’s playing.
    — Candace Hansen, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The black-and-white illustration showed a mother kneeling on the frothing waves’ surface, staring into the face of her naked infant as the Virgin Mary towered above them both, attended by angels circling her head.
    — Ellen O’Connell Whittet, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of staring
Verb
  • 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
Definition of gawking
Verb
  • Despite gazing at the ghostly presence in full, Bela’s parents don’t seem all that spooked, even when the young girl is tossed around like a rag doll during an anniversary gathering at their home.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The rooms Each of Jumeirah Al Naseem's 430 rooms comes with a generous balcony or terrace gazing over the resort grounds, or up at the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of gazing

Browse Nearby Words

gawpers
gawping
gawps
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Cite this Entry

“Gawping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gawping. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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