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
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
  • 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
  • The Vision, led by Logan Paul, secured a win against Je'Von Evans and Dragon Lee, overcoming post-match interference from Otis and Akira Tozawa.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • Electronic warfare, communications interference, bandwidth limitations, or physical obstacles can disrupt connectivity.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 21 July 2026
Definition of interference
Verb
  • But the differences between this and their dreams were staring them in the face.
    — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • Bo grinned, staring at the pale-blue walls of the large classroom.
    — Min Jin Lee, New Yorker, 19 July 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
  • In its center sat perched a one-eyed cat, gazing toward the window.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 July 2026
  • The sequence in the film involving Matt running away from a premiere continues with the character gazing horrified upon his oozing complexion in the reflection of a storefront window.
    — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 21 July 2026
Definition of gazing
Noun
  • Furthermore, integrating critical questioning into decision-making, even when challenging, fosters authentic discernment.
    — Rey Ramsey, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • During the questioning of the four men, all four denied knowing how the fight started.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 18 July 2026
Definition of questioning
Noun
  • 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
  • The bathroom is encased with polycarbonate walls to let in light but keep out prying eyes.
    — Clio Chang, Curbed, 30 June 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 24 Jul. 2026.

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