glaring
Americanadjective
-
shining with or reflecting a harshly bright or brilliant light.
- Synonyms:
- blinding
-
very conspicuous or obvious; flagrant.
several glaring errors in spelling.
-
staring in a fiercely or angrily piercing manner.
-
excessively showy or bright; garish.
adjective
-
conspicuous
a glaring omission
-
dazzling or garish
Related Words
See flagrant.
Other Word Forms
- glaringly adverb
- glaringness noun
- nonglaring adjective
- unglaring adjective
Etymology
Origin of glaring
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: glare 1, -ing 2
Explanation
Whether it's a bright light or a fault, glaring things are obvious. You just can't miss them. Something glaring is obvious to everyone. Sometimes, there's a glaring light that's in your eyes, such as the glaring beams of the sun. Other times, it could be a glaring fault. For example, if you're a very short basketball player, your height is something everyone knows you have to overcome: it's a glaring problem for that sport. Things that are glaring in this way are almost always bad: there aren't any glaring ice cream cones or puppies. You can't avoid looking at things that are glaring, but you wish you could.
Vocabulary lists containing glaring
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 3
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ACT Vocabulary List
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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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.
As a novice motorman he was once confused by the glaring beams; “red lights shone in front of me like the rifle barrels of an approaching platoon.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
“The last time we convened, he noticed me glaring at his drum kit in wonder — I knew that there had to be a LOT of history there,” Parker recalled.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
But, regardless of the outcome of this case, it has also exposed anger about what campaigners say are glaring gaps in criminal law.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
The process has obvious benefits—but similarly glaring flaws.
From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026
The badger set down the teacups and toddled out the door, glaring at Clare as she passed, then disappeared into the shimmering blue beyond.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
