as in gazed
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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Recent Examples of stared
Everyone stared in silence at the man’s rudeness.
—
Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
The two stared each other down with security guards in between them.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 26 May 2026
Malukas leaned into his girlfriend’s embrace, then sat on the pit wall and stared across the track.
—Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 24 May 2026
Finally, after my sister had been hacking away for three minutes or so, one man stood, stared, anger evident on his face, and stomped away.
—Tom Levenson, Time, 20 May 2026
Colorado stared at a 3-0 deficit after the first intermission.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 14 May 2026
Sashko stared at the fingers for a long time.
—James Verini, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026
When Steve entered the room, John stared at him from across the hardwood table.
—Geoffrey Cain, Vanity Fair, 11 May 2026
One smirked while the others stared me down.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 May 2026
Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026
The two stared each other down with security guards in between them.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 26 May 2026
Malukas leaned into his girlfriend’s embrace, then sat on the pit wall and stared across the track.
—Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 24 May 2026
Finally, after my sister had been hacking away for three minutes or so, one man stood, stared, anger evident on his face, and stomped away.
—Tom Levenson, Time, 20 May 2026
Colorado stared at a 3-0 deficit after the first intermission.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 14 May 2026
Sashko stared at the fingers for a long time.
—James Verini, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026
When Steve entered the room, John stared at him from across the hardwood table.
—Geoffrey Cain, Vanity Fair, 11 May 2026
One smirked while the others stared me down.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stared
Verb
-
The congregants gazed out at the world through undraped glass, confident and hopeful.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 May 2026
-
Smith gazed lovingly at Brosnan as the leading man turned up the charm while accepting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997.—
John Russell,
PEOPLE,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Locals complained tourist gawked at them or traipsed through their yards.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Onlookers gawked from the balconies of nearby condo towers.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Gay comedian Sam Oh peered over to his roastee, Julian Stern, and prepared his first stream of jabs at his straight counterpart.—
Steven Vargas,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
-
Bob’s grandfather peered through the fence at League Park to catch a glimpse of Game 1 of the 1920 World Series.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stared. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
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