glare
1 Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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to shine with or reflect a very harsh, bright, dazzling light.
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to stare with a fiercely or angrily piercing look.
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Archaic. to appear conspicuous; stand out obtrusively.
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
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(intr) to stare angrily; glower
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(tr) to express by glowering
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(intr) (of light, colour, etc) to be very bright and intense
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(intr) to be dazzlingly ornamented or garish
noun
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an angry stare
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a dazzling light or brilliance
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garish ornamentation or appearance; gaudiness
adjective
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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glaresimple
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glaressimple
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have glaredperfect
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has glaredperfect
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are glaringprogressive
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am glaringprogressive
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is glaringprogressive
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have been glaringperfect progressive
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has been glaringperfect progressive
Past
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glaredsimple
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had glaredperfect
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was glaringprogressive
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were glaringprogressive
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had been glaringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
When you drive, you pull down your visors to block the glare, or the blinding light from the sun. The "rocket's red glare" from the national anthem is the bright light you'd see as a rocket shoots through the sky. Imagine the twinge of pain you get when you suddenly see the glare of a strong flash of bright light. Now imagine this light coming from an angry person's eyes towards you. This angry look is called a glare. If someone glares at you, be careful you don't get attacked! Glare can also mean the spotlight of public attention.
Vocabulary lists containing glare
The Diary of Anne Frank
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Words from the 4th of July Songbook
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Nothing But the Truth
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Coronagraphs: Glare from bright stars can blot out fainter light from planets and debris disks orbiting those stars.
From Scientific American • Dec. 1, 2022
Soon Hedda discovers a mysterious message written under the pinafore of an eyeless Raggedy Ann doll by her younger self, which leads her to the Dark Web and a game called the Glare.
From New York Times • Sep. 19, 2020
Glare from the afternoon sun obscured the cabin of the police car, but a hand from the driver’s side gestured for Timothy to pull over.
From Nature • Oct. 22, 2019
Glare of publicity He made no attempt to avoid the glare of publicity as members of the intelligence community have done when summoned to the Inquiry.
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2010
Does he Glare on the nations, and denounce, from thee?
From The Poetical Works of Edward Young, Volume 2 by Young, Edward
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
