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
The Green Bay Packers’ first-year team president stared blankly out at Soldier Field from the first row of the press box.
—
Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026
Half our motley crew of six still stared at our phones, though.
—Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 7 Jan. 2026
People stared at Sarandos or deliberately refused to.
—Lauren Bans, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2026
Anyone who’s stared at a blinking cursor on a half-finished resume knows the feeling.
—K. H. Koehler, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
Brown immediately located Durant, who wasn’t involved in the play, and stared him down.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Dec. 2025
He was seated behind glass and stared straight ahead as his attorney declined to enter a plea on his behalf.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 19 Dec. 2025
Reiner stared straight ahead behind a glass wall with shackles on in the courtroom.
—Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 17 Dec. 2025
Dak Prescott stared blankly for several seconds when the star quarterback was asked what the goal would be for the Dallas Cowboys over the final three games, with their playoff hopes all but gone.
—CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026
Half our motley crew of six still stared at our phones, though.
—Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 7 Jan. 2026
People stared at Sarandos or deliberately refused to.
—Lauren Bans, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2026
Anyone who’s stared at a blinking cursor on a half-finished resume knows the feeling.
—K. H. Koehler, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
Brown immediately located Durant, who wasn’t involved in the play, and stared him down.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Dec. 2025
He was seated behind glass and stared straight ahead as his attorney declined to enter a plea on his behalf.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 19 Dec. 2025
Reiner stared straight ahead behind a glass wall with shackles on in the courtroom.
—Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 17 Dec. 2025
Dak Prescott stared blankly for several seconds when the star quarterback was asked what the goal would be for the Dallas Cowboys over the final three games, with their playoff hopes all but gone.
—CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stared
Verb
-
The pair—who’ve been married since 2018—held hands and gazed at each other, and the Love Again star was photographed adjusting her husband’s black bow tie and putting her hand on his chest.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Countless people around the world have unknowingly gazed into a fourth-floor room of the former Jefferson Hotel in Phoenix.—
Douglas C. Towne,
AZCentral.com,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
They’re presented as endearing surprises of nature and life, celebrated rather than gawked at.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Dec. 2025
-
Drilling for progress As the rest of us gawked at Maye’s pinpoint accuracy on his 55-yard completion to Rhamondre Stevenson in the third quarter of last Sunday’s win — the longest of his career — Maye’s position coach smiled for a different reason.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
On one of the final days of the semester, Raymundo peered into his Infiniti J30’s engine bay, searching for the issue that had troubled the car.—
Daniel Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Teigen shared other clips in the carousel post of her family vacation, including a shot of herself walking along the beach with her daughter Esti and her posing on a boat in a plunging black swimsuit as Luna and Miles, seen in life jackets standing behind her, peered over the boat’s edge.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stared. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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