as in to stare
to take a look with the eyes narrowed (as because of difficulty seeing)
He squinted in her direction, but couldn't make her out with the sun behind her.
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1
as in strabismus
British
difficulty in seeing resulting from improper alignment of the eyes
The child was born with a squint that was eventually corrected through surgery.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of squint
Art De Roché, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
Wiesmair squints at his smartphone, which is logged on to a database of European moth species.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 Oct. 2025
James Marcus, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
Up on deck for a smoke afterward, Spencer squints at the horizon: Yep, that’s land in the distance.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for squint
Verb
Now, Renee Slegers’ side have ground to make up both domestically and in Europe, squinting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
—Art De Roché, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
Wiesmair squints at his smartphone, which is logged on to a database of European moth species.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
Fuller suffered from a curvature of the spine, which made her slouch, and from myopia, which made her squint.
—James Marcus, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
Up on deck for a smoke afterward, Spencer squints at the horizon: Yep, that’s land in the distance.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for squint
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squint
Verb
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Recipes from Valencia took me back to an afternoon lounging in the lawns near The City of Arts and Sciences, staring at orange trees, plucking pieces of rabbit from paella with my fingers, and swirling toast into olive oil.—
Jamila Robinson,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
31 Oct. 2025
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The iconic meadow scene, during which Bella and Edward stare longingly at one another on the forest floor, reached new levels of enchantmemt thanks to a proper display of the scene's idyllic panorama.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Barrel Cards The barrel card exercise can help improve symptoms of strabismus (crossed eyes).—
Laura Schober,
Health,
12 Feb. 2025
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One of his conditions, strabismus,has also been reported by researchers to be behind the genius of Leonardo da Vinci, allowing the painter to perceive the world differently and facilitating his accurate depiction of three-dimensional objects on flat surfaces.—
Maya Davis,
CNN,
4 Aug. 2024
Noun
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Keep your core tight, your shoulders back, and your gaze forward as much as possible.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
26 Oct. 2025
-
The second tallest, a boy, looks at the camera with the steady gaze of a future class president.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The place is the Savin Bar + Kitchen, in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, where immediately inside the front door, patrons are greeted by a larger-than-life framed mugshot of Bulger — the mob-boss, murderer, bank robber, drug dealer and extortionist — peering cooly out from under his fedora.—
Tovia Smith,
NPR,
24 Oct. 2025
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This is the first in a series of mysterious and increasingly frightening events that follow him through his childhood, all of it narrated in 'Penpal' by his adult self peering through a distorted lens of shaky, imperfect recall.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Myopia is when someone can see objects close-up but their vision becomes blurred when looking at objects farther away, and astigmatism is a condition in which either the eye’s cornea or lens has a different shape than normal, causing blurred vision.—
Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
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For instance, people with astigmatism benefit from toric lenses.—
Malana VanTyler,
AZCentral.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Break out the sunglasses and lower those sun shades — the season of early-morning safety closures for sun glare on eastbound Interstate 70 at Floyd Hill is back.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
29 Oct. 2025
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The object, temporarily obscured from Earth by solar glare, is being closely tracked by spacecraft, including those operated by NASA.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Occasionally, a monkey glanced at our boat, but most were turned away from the shore.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
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At one point, Perry lovingly glanced at Trudeau.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Jennifer Smith Richards reports on why the rise of Christian nationalism in Oklahoma schools models the far-right’s vision for education in America.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Nov. 2025
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Earlier this year, the team decided to rebrand, choosing a name more in keeping with the brand's vision – and Fold was born.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Squint.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squint. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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