glare

¹

[ glair ]

noun

1. a very harsh, bright, dazzling light:

   in the glare of sunlight.

   Synonyms: flash, glitter, flare

2. a fiercely or angrily piercing stare.
3. dazzling or showy appearance; showiness.

verb (used without object)

, glared, glar·ing.

1. to shine with or reflect a very harsh, bright, dazzling light.
2. to stare with a fiercely or angrily piercing look.
3. Archaic. to appear conspicuous; stand out obtrusively.

verb (used with object)

, glared, glar·ing.

1. to express with a glare:

   They glared their anger at each other.

glare

²

[ glair ]

noun

1. a bright, smooth surface, as of ice.

glare

¹

/ ɡlɛə /

verb

1. intr to stare angrily; glower
2. tr to express by glowering
3. intr (of light, colour, etc) to be very bright and intense
4. intr to be dazzlingly ornamented or garish

noun

1. an angry stare
2. a dazzling light or brilliance
3. garish ornamentation or appearance; gaudiness

glare

²

/ ɡlɛə /

adjective

1. smooth and glassy

   glare ice

Derived Forms

• ˈglareless, adjective
• ˈglary, adjective

Other Words From

• glareless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of glare¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the verb) Middle English glaren; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German glaren; akin to glass (compare Old English glæren “glassy”); noun derivative of the verb

Origin of glare²

First recorded in 1560–70; special use of glare ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of glare¹

C13: probably from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch glaren to gleam; probably related to Old English glæren glassy; see glass

Origin of glare²

C16: special use of glare ¹

Synonym Study

See shine ¹. Glare, glower, gloat all have connotations of emotion that accompany an intense gaze. To glare is to look piercingly or angrily: A tiger glares at its prey. To glower is to look fiercely and threateningly, as from wrath; it suggests a scowl along with a glare: to glower at a mischievous child. To gloat meant originally to look with exultation, avaricious or malignant, on something or someone: a tyrant gloating over the helplessness of his victim. Today, however, it may simply imply inner exultation.

Example Sentences

I don’t consider myself a normally lonely person, but in the glare of the holidays, my pain turned me inside out.

From Salon

Russia's war in Ukraine has highlighted glaring gaps in Europe's ability to sustain a long conflict, with industry initially slow to respond.

From BBC

In a glaring example from the pilot episode, Angela says that Anne Frank was “lucky” because she got to be “stuck in an attic for three years with this guy she really liked.”

From Los Angeles Times

Some awaiting execution at the United States Correctional Facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, may be innocent or victims of glaring miscarriages of justice.

From Salon

Roughly 2,000 years old, the bronze woman is damaged: the absence of her shorn-off right hand and foot is glaring.

From Salon

Related Words

• frown
• gape
• gawk
• glower
• scowl
• stare