rubbernecking 1 of 2

noun

as in eavesdropping

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Dissimilar Words

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
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 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 The whole of football is rubbernecking in their direction. — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubbernecking
  1. eavesdropping
  2. gawking
  3. interference
  4. staring
  5. intrusiveness
  6. gazing
  7. questioning
  8. prying
Noun
  • With more scientific eavesdropping on sperm whales, the team at Project CETI hopes to translate whale language to the best of our ability and use how humans impact it to help inform conservation policies.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 22 July 2026
  • 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
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
  • Reigns won the match with three spears in a row in a perfect singles match that had zero interference.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Some legal and tax experts say the immunity agreement could violate an IRS statute barring executive branch interference in taxpayer audits and investigations.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of interference
Verb
  • On top of that, many schools have kids spending lots of time on screens, even though staring at them for long periods can be stressful and exhausting.
    — Kara Alaimo, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Residents will encounter him perched on the air conditioner just outside their apartment, staring in.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 1 Aug. 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
  • The first image shows the mother-of-two enjoying a moment of calm outside, wearing a pair of pale jeans and a blue striped shirt, gazing thoughtfully into the distance.
    — Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026
  • There, Kikuko lies on a luxurious bed and dies while gazing out to sea.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of gazing
Noun
  • Police detained several people for questioning but said they are not necessarily considered suspects.
    — Frederick Sutton Sinclair, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Maddox, who was handcuffed outside his mother’s home while investigators searched the property, was also released without charges after several hours of questioning.
    — Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 31 July 2026
Definition of questioning
Noun
  • Meanwhile, celebrities opting for real-life mountain living include Tom Cruise with his staggering 298-acre mountain estate, as well as Oprah Winfrey, who both chose Telluride, Colorado to build in, live in and escape prying paparazzi.
    — Catherine Dunwoody, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Part of the Democratic disagreement comes from just how much attention to pay to media outlets’ prying, versus the power of the message.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of prying

Browse Nearby Words

rubberneckers
rubbernecking
rubbernecks
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Cite this Entry

“Rubbernecking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubbernecking. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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