askance
Americanadverb
-
with suspicion, mistrust, or disapproval.
He looked askance at my offer.
- Synonyms:
- suspiciously, skeptically
-
with a side glance; sidewise; obliquely.
adverb
-
with an oblique glance
-
with doubt or mistrust
Etymology
Origin of askance
First recorded in 1520–30; earlier a scanche, a sca(u)nce; of obscure origin
Explanation
You may have trouble watching a gory horror movie, but you also won't be able to look away. Find a happy medium by looking askance, or subtly out of the corner of your eye. First used in the 1500's, no one is quite sure where the cockeyed, slanting adverb askance came from. Some people suspect that it evolved from the Latin a scancio, meaning “obliquely, slantingly,” while others argue that it’s just a variant of the word askew. How fitting for a word that describes a suspicious or distrusting manner of looking that we can't trace its etymology with any surety.
Vocabulary lists containing askance
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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.
For instance, if you took the standard deduction last year and itemized your deductions this year, the IRS would not look askance.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026
An acquisition of BHP’s petroleum business was cheered by investors, though they looked askance at the company’s decision to invest in a low-carbon ammonia project in Texas.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
“Often, people look askance at victims who come forward with allegations years after a crime,” Boyarsky said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2024
She looked mostly like this while saying it — eyes askance, either pre-or-post hand on chin — a vibe, nay, a mood that she carried throughout most of the debate.
From Salon • Sep. 11, 2024
Madam Rosmerta, the pretty landlady, didn’t seem to think much of this; she was looking askance at Moody as she collected glasses from tables around them.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
