as in stared
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
thoughtless drivers pausing on the highway to rubberneck at the accident
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubbernecked
Verb
-
Coach Jim Harbaugh stared back as the clock ticked — 19 seconds, 18, 17, 16, 15.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025 -
Daria stared at the arrangement of perfectly circular reddish bruises on the woman’s back, exposed by her halter top.—
Catherine Lacey,
New Yorker,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Drilling for progress As the rest of us gawked at Maye’s pinpoint accuracy on his 55-yard completion to Rhamondre Stevenson in the third quarter of last Sunday’s win — the longest of his career — Maye’s position coach smiled for a different reason.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Who among us has not gazed at the stars and marveled at how our eyes are absorbing light that traveled thousands of years to reach us?—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Matisse dressed the part of a British gentleman and gazed at his conversation partners with a serenity that bordered on a trance.—
Christopher C. Gorham
September 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Rubbernecked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubbernecked. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share