as in to gaze
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
her friends stared in disbelief upon seeing her walking arm in arm with her ex-husband
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in gaze
a fixed intent look
caught the child's wide-eyed stare on film
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Recent Examples of stare
Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
Everyone stared in silence at the man’s rudeness.
—Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
Jessica Kiang, Variety, 18 May 2026
Passengers react to unexpected seatmate Passengers and flight attendants reacted with surprise as Stewie made its way to a window seat, drawing stares, photos, and plenty of questions.
—J.d. Miles, CBS News, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for stare
Verb
Shaina laid on her cot all night, staring at the ceiling, processing all the ways her life was changing.
—Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
Everyone stared in silence at the man’s rudeness.
—Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
Noun
Encouraged out to a party one night by his gregarious best friend (Shanti Masud), David accepts a pill from a stranger and, almost immediately afterwards, notices a young woman (Seydoux) across the room who is fixing him with a faintly predatory stare.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 18 May 2026
Passengers react to unexpected seatmate Passengers and flight attendants reacted with surprise as Stewie made its way to a window seat, drawing stares, photos, and plenty of questions.
—J.d. Miles, CBS News, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for stare
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stare
Verb
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Stood frozen to the backdrop of unrestrained exultation, Cholowsky — the presumptive top pick in July’s MLB Draft — gazed over the boy’s shoulder with a thousand-yard stare.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
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As a scorching wind tears across the barren, rocky slopes of Komote Island off the shore of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, Alfred Lenkutuk sits in the meager shelter of his hut, gazing out over the village where he was born and remembering better times.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
31 May 2026
Verb
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The Luce’s quiet-luxury design will also please those browsing Ferrari’s new fashion stores to make a purchase and not just gawk at the prices.—
Alistair Charlton,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
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This seemingly reflexive action of whipping out their phones while gawking and filming isn’t a novel occurrence.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stare.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stare. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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