as in gazing
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 staring
When Ali Ansari was 12, living with his family in a single room at his aunt’s house in Woodland Hills, his immigrant mother told him to stop wasting time staring at his phone and try making money with it.
—
Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Shortly thereafter, the two women heard a loud bang and exited the bedroom to find Toth lying on the kitchen floor and staring blankly at the ceiling, the report said.
—Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026
Yet another dupe is ankles and ass up, with the real Censori perched on top of her, staring at the flesh cake.
—Anna Peele, Vanity Fair, 6 Feb. 2026
Ryan Donato took a hit in the first period that left him sprawled on the ice, staring a hole through the referee.
—Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
Reigning champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman, also known as MJF, looked shocked as the chant began, staring into the camera wide eyed before scanning the crowd.
—Isabel Yip, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
The Conservatives, staring at electoral oblivion, hastily followed suit, pledging to repeal the Climate Change Act.
—Bjorn Lomborg, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
Craig asks Austen while staring at his lips and thinking about throwing his whole life away.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026
Bruno, the tiny Frenchie staring at me through the café’s window, suffered from extreme separation anxiety, I was told—which was impressive, given how quickly his owner separated from me.
—Eileen Kelly, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2026
Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Shortly thereafter, the two women heard a loud bang and exited the bedroom to find Toth lying on the kitchen floor and staring blankly at the ceiling, the report said.
—Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026
Yet another dupe is ankles and ass up, with the real Censori perched on top of her, staring at the flesh cake.
—Anna Peele, Vanity Fair, 6 Feb. 2026
Ryan Donato took a hit in the first period that left him sprawled on the ice, staring a hole through the referee.
—Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
Reigning champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman, also known as MJF, looked shocked as the chant began, staring into the camera wide eyed before scanning the crowd.
—Isabel Yip, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
The Conservatives, staring at electoral oblivion, hastily followed suit, pledging to repeal the Climate Change Act.
—Bjorn Lomborg, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
Craig asks Austen while staring at his lips and thinking about throwing his whole life away.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026
Bruno, the tiny Frenchie staring at me through the café’s window, suffered from extreme separation anxiety, I was told—which was impressive, given how quickly his owner separated from me.
—Eileen Kelly, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for staring
Verb
-
Getting rocked to sleep in a comfortable bed while gazing out the window is not to be missed.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
-
In the Kardashian-Jenner version, Jenner, in a plunging black dress, played the part of Loren, gazing over at Kardashian who smiled at the camera in a blonde wig and plunging white silk dress.—
Meg Walters,
InStyle,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
If gawking at celebrities is your thing.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
20 Jan. 2026
-
Here, astronomers are gawking at a radio signal that appears crudely on the screen like a crooked game of Pong but turns out to be a line of data repeated every 78 seconds from 600 light-years away.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Staring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/staring. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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