as in gawking
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
thoughtless drivers pausing on the highway to rubberneck at the accident
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in eavesdropping
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Recent Examples of rubbernecking
Nick Miller, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
Other tasty-looking ties include Red Bull Salzburg against Porto and, for fans of rubbernecking, Russell Martin’s latest chance to win over Rangers fans comes at home to Genk.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubbernecking
Verb
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But the cringe-comedy antics of the original NBC series landed far better in Season 3 than in Season 1, once audiences began to truly love the characters instead of just gawking at them.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Nunn has a divided audience, as the Baddies show is fueled with drama, with Jerry Springer style fights to keep viewers gawking.—
Nadja Sayej,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The team’s three-year investigation found that roughly half of all geostationary satellite signals are left vulnerable to eavesdropping.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
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But recording a conversation that a person is not participating in violates the eavesdropping statute, Heath said.—
Nushrat Rahman,
Freep.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Willow begins to whimper, and backs away from the door—but sits promptly down, still staring at it.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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Making things with your hands will shift your brain into problem-solving mode and sparks creativity in ways staring at a screen never will.—
Cas Holman,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Hu is also a senior official of an organization in China's southern Guangdong province that is part of the Communist Party’s United Front global political influence and interference organization, according to Newsweek research.—
Didi Kirsten Tatlow,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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The charges stemmed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.—
Erin Mansfield,
USA Today,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The footage shows a tabby cat gazing out the window with her back to the camera while a small gray-and-white kitten sits beside her.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
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The final shot sees Tom gazing out the window as a curtain gently sways in the warm breeze.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Philosophical questioning returns for a final edit when Neptune retrogrades back to Pisces.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
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However, Buster was never brought in for questioning.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The prying end also serves as a nail puller, box cutter and bottle opener.—
Ben Coxworth
October 07,
New Atlas,
7 Oct. 2025
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The film stages its riot of activity as hard-nosed honesty, but its portrait is ultimately as ginned-up and inexact as the fictional news broadcast’s lurid prying.—
Richard Lawson,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rubbernecking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubbernecking. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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