as in spectators
someone who sees or watches something
several onlookers gave chase after the thief grabbed the woman's purse
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Recent Examples of onlookers
When Obama delivered his election-night victory speech in Chicago’s Grant Park in 2008 to a massive crowd of cheering onlookers, the cameras caught Jackson looking on, tears in his eyes.
—
John Blake, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
LaBeouf's behavior prompted multiple onlookers to get involved in an attempt to hold him down, police said.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Feb. 2026
Those, and other comments, had surprised some onlookers, and led to author Arundhati Roy cancelling her visit to the festival and penning a stinging rebuke.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 14 Feb. 2026
The hanging quickly devolves into an all-out bacchanal, as onlookers drink, dance and kiss in the square surrounding the flailing corpse.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
And in a scene that concerned onlookers, American skier Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to hospital after crashing during a race.
—Tiago Ventura, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
Johnson hopes to give onlookers a parting gift Sunday with an improbable Daytona 500 win.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
Each takeover saw about 40-50 cars participating with 80-100 onlookers.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 10 Feb. 2026
There’s a flicker of nerves before deploying the Tremec five-speed manual gearshift and the dread of stalling out at pit lane in front of a gallery of onlookers.
—Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 10 Feb. 2026
John Blake, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
LaBeouf's behavior prompted multiple onlookers to get involved in an attempt to hold him down, police said.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Feb. 2026
Those, and other comments, had surprised some onlookers, and led to author Arundhati Roy cancelling her visit to the festival and penning a stinging rebuke.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 14 Feb. 2026
The hanging quickly devolves into an all-out bacchanal, as onlookers drink, dance and kiss in the square surrounding the flailing corpse.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
And in a scene that concerned onlookers, American skier Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to hospital after crashing during a race.
—Tiago Ventura, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
Johnson hopes to give onlookers a parting gift Sunday with an improbable Daytona 500 win.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
Each takeover saw about 40-50 cars participating with 80-100 onlookers.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 10 Feb. 2026
There’s a flicker of nerves before deploying the Tremec five-speed manual gearshift and the dread of stalling out at pit lane in front of a gallery of onlookers.
—Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 10 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for onlookers
Noun
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Once made of glass and cherished by parade spectators who were lucky enough to catch them, today cheap plastic beaded necklaces from overseas are tossed from floats by the handful.—
TRAVIS LOLLER,
Arkansas Online,
16 Feb. 2026
-
North Providence, which is involved with one of the co-op teams, told CNN the shooting involved spectators and happened around the start of the first period.—
Mark Morales,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Jackson’s dual bids for the Democratic presidential nomination inspired Black America and stunned political observers who marveled at his ability to draw White voters.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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This type of immersive education challenges students to engage with conflict not as passive observers but as active participants, working alongside those directly impacted by conflict to understand their experiences and gain firsthand knowledge of the complexities involved in sustaining peace.—
David Dumke,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But a lot of people saw a cool vintage Ford truck on Sunday, reminding them of how long the company has been producing those vehicles, and likely inspiring at least some percentage of viewers to consider an F-Series purchase.—
Jamie L. LaReau,
USA Today,
15 Feb. 2026
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Wim Wenders’ tag-along with Ry Cooder to make recordings with aging giants of traditional Cuban music was a revelation for so many viewers unaware of the art form.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Onlookers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/onlookers. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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