as in gazes
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in eyes
a fixed intent look
caught the child's wide-eyed stare on film
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 stares
Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2026
An antelope on a ridge teasingly stares before bounding off up the rocky hill.
—Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 17 Apr. 2026
The foursome stares at each other for a moment, then Ashley and Austin literally run away.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, Lori, a young Black woman hired under false pretenses as an assistant, stares mutely.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
Washington stares blankly at the ceiling, over and over.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Mar. 2026
Mirkovic stares back intently, a serious look on his face.
—Cj Moore, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026
Nearby, Ella Dalton stares into a copy of Normal People by Sally Rooney, and Mahi Kabra lounges by the hair-washing sinks holding A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.
—Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2026
As Ji Seon stares in shock, her friends cheer in the background, chanting at her to say yes, ha.
—Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Brent Lang, Variety, 7 Apr. 2026
Musgraves and Hannah Lux Davis co-directed the song’s cheeky video, which is set in a grocery store and is ripe with fruit-touching and wistful stares.
—Travis Pinson, Dallas Morning News, 11 Mar. 2026
Her performance is a showpiece of stiffness and resentment, all mannered pouting and stern forehead-forward stares, that’s two steps away from parody — until her earrings in the sixth episode bring it over the line.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2026
The stares were blank and the handshakes perfunctory, because the Canadians know the value of silver as pertains to this tournament.
—Steve Buckley, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2026
Awkward giggles and ruthless stares punctuate silence until the blind matriarch (played by Tracy Letts) asks his daughter to describe Martha’s (Elle Fanning) appearance to him in exhaustive detail.
—David Opie, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2026
Indeed, compared with the realistically creased faces and hangdog stares of the Cubs, the Boston fans behind them are closer to grotesques, an inhuman crush of caricatures.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
At the gym, located in Garden Grove, Hansen says they were met with unwelcoming and leering stares before entering the facility.
—Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Salerno claims her team was disqualified from the following meet and then began to face intimidating stares from the trans athlete at public events.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 14 Jan. 2026
Verb
Michael stares at his image without showing much interest.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2026
An antelope on a ridge teasingly stares before bounding off up the rocky hill.
—Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 17 Apr. 2026
The foursome stares at each other for a moment, then Ashley and Austin literally run away.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, Lori, a young Black woman hired under false pretenses as an assistant, stares mutely.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
Washington stares blankly at the ceiling, over and over.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Mar. 2026
Mirkovic stares back intently, a serious look on his face.
—Cj Moore, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026
Nearby, Ella Dalton stares into a copy of Normal People by Sally Rooney, and Mahi Kabra lounges by the hair-washing sinks holding A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.
—Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2026
As Ji Seon stares in shock, her friends cheer in the background, chanting at her to say yes, ha.
—Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Noun
In one scene from the film’s original script, the King of Pop stares at his reflection in the mirror, capturing his sorrowful gaze as police car lights flash behind him.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 7 Apr. 2026
Musgraves and Hannah Lux Davis co-directed the song’s cheeky video, which is set in a grocery store and is ripe with fruit-touching and wistful stares.
—Travis Pinson, Dallas Morning News, 11 Mar. 2026
Her performance is a showpiece of stiffness and resentment, all mannered pouting and stern forehead-forward stares, that’s two steps away from parody — until her earrings in the sixth episode bring it over the line.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2026
The stares were blank and the handshakes perfunctory, because the Canadians know the value of silver as pertains to this tournament.
—Steve Buckley, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2026
Awkward giggles and ruthless stares punctuate silence until the blind matriarch (played by Tracy Letts) asks his daughter to describe Martha’s (Elle Fanning) appearance to him in exhaustive detail.
—David Opie, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2026
Indeed, compared with the realistically creased faces and hangdog stares of the Cubs, the Boston fans behind them are closer to grotesques, an inhuman crush of caricatures.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
At the gym, located in Garden Grove, Hansen says they were met with unwelcoming and leering stares before entering the facility.
—Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Salerno claims her team was disqualified from the following meet and then began to face intimidating stares from the trans athlete at public events.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stares
Verb
-
All three writers turned loving, humorous, piercing gazes on a particular place, exploring, through cycles of plays, the rich humanity and the grave historical wounds of its inhabitants.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Peasants whisper about monsters in the forest, and in the interlude between the wars, Lajos gazes at a house that is burning down and has a premonition of the world-historical destruction to come.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The 73-year-old Weinstein kept his eyes trained on Mann throughout her Tuesday testimony, intermittently whispering to his attorney, Teny Geragos.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
In another, Hurst snapped a picture of a man sleeping rough on a slab of cardboard, one arm shielding his eyes from the sun, and the other pulling up his shirt suggestively.—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stares.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stares. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
