blankly

[ blangk-lee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adverb

Origin of blankly¹

First recorded in 1815–25; blank + -ly

He tried to pick her up, but My’onna, laying on her side and staring blankly ahead, couldn’t move.

He asked the group of six or seven children if they had any questions, but most looked at him blankly and in silence.

Mention the name Yeager to school children in the 1960s and they’d look back at you blankly.

From Time

The strongest, frankly dictatorial authority figure I have known would look at me blankly, unable to make even simple decisions.

Strong, young, crisply uniformed, he or she would shake, sigh, stare blankly, or cry, recounting variations of this statement.

He stares at us blankly, then pulls down his pants and begins peeing.

The Queen looked at him blankly, smiled and shrugged her shoulders politely as she turned and moved on.

“I can only imagine what you felt as you stared blankly at the officer who arrived without any answers to give,” she wrote.

The men gazed into each others' faces blankly; and then, as if by common impulse, the whole company rode forward.

He gave so violent a start, his face expressed so much of apprehension and dismay, that I stared at him blankly.

Then, in my anger I arose and went stamping up and down the room, while Tim sat there staring at me blankly.

He sat in the chair and blankly watched the two men who hung over the table and its flow of brilliant symbols.

Thyrsis stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly; and the deer stood staring at him.

April 18, 2024petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Browse