as in staring
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
visitors seem mesmerized as they peer at the variety of marine life in the aquarium's huge tank
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Recent Examples of peering
In 2002, the Sanctuarium started to appear on the skyline, peering down like the Eye of Sauron.
—
Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
The Ring doorbell showed someone peering through the camera, but no one answered.
—Allen Devlin, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
Walking on the saline landscape feels lighter than life—and peering into the horizon will blow your mind.
—Maya Silver, Outside, 20 Jan. 2026
So, the publicists, makeup team and fellow members of the press — all of us peering out of the floor-to-ceiling windows with a grimace — begin doing just that.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 16 Jan. 2026
Explore the shops that line the road on a tour or solo (many open their studios to the public), and look up to see yachimun shisa dogs peering down from building entrances and roofs; these figures, found across Okinawa, are believed to offer spiritual protection.
—Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 16 Jan. 2026
Antonio Alcalá, an art director for the postal service's stamp development program, designed the stamps, which features a 1974, black-and-white Associated Press image of the boxer focusing with his gloves upright, peering into the lens.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 14 Jan. 2026
In a July 2025 post celebrating her birthday, Bündchen shared an adorable photo of her and her son peering onto a waterfall together.
—Yasmeen Hamadeh, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
The Rooms Clad in rich wood and walls of glass, my private villa featured an oversized bed, peering out onto a tranquility pond beyond a private deck.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 9 Jan. 2026
Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
The Ring doorbell showed someone peering through the camera, but no one answered.
—Allen Devlin, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
Walking on the saline landscape feels lighter than life—and peering into the horizon will blow your mind.
—Maya Silver, Outside, 20 Jan. 2026
So, the publicists, makeup team and fellow members of the press — all of us peering out of the floor-to-ceiling windows with a grimace — begin doing just that.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 16 Jan. 2026
Explore the shops that line the road on a tour or solo (many open their studios to the public), and look up to see yachimun shisa dogs peering down from building entrances and roofs; these figures, found across Okinawa, are believed to offer spiritual protection.
—Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 16 Jan. 2026
Antonio Alcalá, an art director for the postal service's stamp development program, designed the stamps, which features a 1974, black-and-white Associated Press image of the boxer focusing with his gloves upright, peering into the lens.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 14 Jan. 2026
In a July 2025 post celebrating her birthday, Bündchen shared an adorable photo of her and her son peering onto a waterfall together.
—Yasmeen Hamadeh, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
The Rooms Clad in rich wood and walls of glass, my private villa featured an oversized bed, peering out onto a tranquility pond beyond a private deck.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peering
Verb
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Regardless of how the strike turns out, Laurel Lucia, deputy executive director for the Labor Center at UC Berkeley, said the health care industry in California is staring at considerable changes to its business landscape.—
Pat Maio,
Oc Register,
31 Jan. 2026
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Alessandro Michele, at Valentino, was also thinking of how to collide reality and fantasy, staging his collection in nooks inspired by the kaiser panorama, an early 20th century precursor to cinema, in which viewers sat around a circle, staring into a contraption displaying slides.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In the Kardashian-Jenner version, Jenner, in a plunging black dress, played the part of Loren, gazing over at Kardashian who smiled at the camera in a blonde wig and plunging white silk dress.—
Meg Walters,
InStyle,
31 Jan. 2026
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So having another person in her space was always a little surprising, even if the curator, gazing at her with his usual mix of mild reproach and gauzy concern, seemed not abundantly different from the empty chair.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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If gawking at celebrities is your thing.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
20 Jan. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Peering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peering. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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