rubbernecking 1 of 2

noun

as in eavesdropping

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rubbernecking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of rubberneck
as in gawking
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise thoughtless drivers pausing on the highway to rubberneck at the accident

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 rubbernecking
Verb
The whole of football is rubbernecking in their direction. — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026 Instead, Malinin popped his quad axel, the beginning of four minutes that started to feel like rubbernecking a car accident. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Feb. 2026 As a result, traffic between Morton Grove and Skokie has slowed to a crawl, and on the inbound side there has also been a slowdown due to rubbernecking. — Kris Habermehl, CBS News, 4 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubbernecking
  1. eavesdropping
  2. gawking
  3. interference
  4. staring
  5. intrusiveness
  6. gazing
  7. questioning
  8. prying
Noun
  • He was charged with five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another person and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful dissemination of private recordings.
    — Austin Turner, CBS News, 24 June 2026
  • The staff of Sermitsiaq had taken to leaving their phones outside editorial meetings, for fear of eavesdropping by the United States.
    — Ben Taub, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
Definition of eavesdropping
Verb
  • 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
Definition of gawking
Noun
  • His approach has drawn criticism from ​some Sikh groups, who accuse Ottawa of failing to hold India accountable or safeguard Sikh Canadians from foreign interference and transnational repression.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 8 July 2026
  • Subcommittees still do their work, but risks arrive late, management over-curates information and directors drift into either passivity or interference.
    — David Ribott, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of interference
Verb
  • The banners of Hightower green burning in the night, Rhaenyra staring ominously through the flames.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
  • Now, yes, staring at the ceiling long enough to draw you a diagram of the paint peeling.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 30 June 2026
Definition of staring
Noun
  • That seemed to work for a while, but now his intrusiveness is ramping up again.
    — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
Definition of intrusiveness
Verb
  • Isn’t that what any of us wants when gazing into the mirror held up to nature, as Hamlet describes the theater?
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026
  • Soul gazing The following morning, the participants wake up with maybe the clearest heads in Nashville.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 27 June 2026
Definition of gazing
Noun
  • The dispatch Although yet to submit himself to proper media questioning, Andy Burnham, Britain’s incoming — and unelected — prime minister, is fleshing out his policy aims.
    — Ian King, CNBC, 8 July 2026
  • Defense attorneys chose not to call certain experts and limited their questioning of the state's witnesses to avoid violating the agreement, according to the motion.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 8 July 2026
Definition of questioning
Noun
  • The bathroom is encased with polycarbonate walls to let in light but keep out prying eyes.
    — Clio Chang, Curbed, 30 June 2026
  • It’s often viewed as a dumping ground for human refuse — out of sight, out of mind — and it is structured to prevent prying eyes.
    — Gerard S. Williams, Sun Sentinel, 21 June 2026
Definition of prying

Browse Nearby Words

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rubbernecking
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Cite this Entry

“Rubbernecking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubbernecking. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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