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
Made in response to a difficult breakup, the work alludes to two lovers parting ways, but also to Pau’s memories of isolation as a severely asthmatic child in a notoriously polluted city, lying in bed staring at the wall and inventing stories to distract herself from the difficulty of breathing.
—
Pauline J. Yao, Artforum, 2 May 2026
Suddenly, the Royals were staring at a 5-2 deficit.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 30 Apr. 2026
For a franchise staring at one of its biggest lottery nights in years, the Nets are bringing along one of the people who’s lived every version of their story up close.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2026
The couple sat in a vestibule inside the Aurora immigration detention facility on a Saturday in March, staring at each other through the glass barrier separating the incarcerated from the free.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026
That's a lot of late nights and early mornings staring at the sky.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 25 Apr. 2026
But the current way of doing things, where everyone is constantly standing around, waiting for a coach to finish staring at an iPad or hear from a video guy who’s literally the only person in an entire building who noticed a play was offside?
—Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2026
What Jaafar does amounts to an elaborate impression instead of an interpretation, re-creating the voice and the famous choreography and otherwise staring blankly into the middle distance when called upon to transmit emotions.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2026
The first 32 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft will begin primarily focused on a top tier that runs out quickly, and transition to a bunch of teams staring at the same cluster of offensive tackles, edge rushers and wide receivers.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2026
Pauline J. Yao, Artforum, 2 May 2026
Suddenly, the Royals were staring at a 5-2 deficit.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 30 Apr. 2026
For a franchise staring at one of its biggest lottery nights in years, the Nets are bringing along one of the people who’s lived every version of their story up close.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2026
The couple sat in a vestibule inside the Aurora immigration detention facility on a Saturday in March, staring at each other through the glass barrier separating the incarcerated from the free.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026
That's a lot of late nights and early mornings staring at the sky.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 25 Apr. 2026
But the current way of doing things, where everyone is constantly standing around, waiting for a coach to finish staring at an iPad or hear from a video guy who’s literally the only person in an entire building who noticed a play was offside?
—Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2026
What Jaafar does amounts to an elaborate impression instead of an interpretation, re-creating the voice and the famous choreography and otherwise staring blankly into the middle distance when called upon to transmit emotions.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2026
The first 32 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft will begin primarily focused on a top tier that runs out quickly, and transition to a bunch of teams staring at the same cluster of offensive tackles, edge rushers and wide receivers.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for staring
Verb
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Farran asked, gazing at their graves — cardboard signs smeared with handwritten Arabic because the war has made a proper burial in their village impossible.—
Isabel Debre,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
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Here's what to know about the timing, and if the weather will allow for moon-gazing activities.—
Mariyam Muhammad,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
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Those are important characteristics for advertisers seeking to make dynamic campaigns for an audience that's grown accustomed to viewing short-form videos on Reels or gawking at cat photos on Facebook and Instagram.—
Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Staring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/staring. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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