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glaring

[glair-ing]
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adjective
  1. shining with or reflecting a harshly bright or brilliant light.
  2. very conspicuous or obvious; flagrant: several glaring errors in spelling.
  3. staring in a fiercely or angrily piercing manner.
  4. excessively showy or bright; garish.
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Origin of glaring

Middle English: word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at glare1, -ing2
Related formsglar·ing·ly, adverbglar·ing·ness, nounnon·glar·ing, adjectiveun·glar·ing, adjective

Synonyms

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1. blinding. 2. prominent, patent. See flagrant. 4. loud, gaudy, flashy.

glare1

[glair]
noun
  1. a very harsh, bright, dazzling light: in the glare of sunlight.
  2. a fiercely or angrily piercing stare.
  3. dazzling or showy appearance; showiness.
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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.
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verb (used with object), glared, glar·ing.
  1. to express with a glare: They glared their anger at each other.
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Origin of glare1

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English glaren; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German glaren; akin to glass (compare Old English glæren glassy); (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v.
Related formsglare·less, adjective

Synonyms

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1. flare, glitter, flash. 4. See shine1. 5. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

noticeable, egregious, flagrant, outrageous, blatant, conspicuous, garish, blazing, shining, gross, patent, rank, manifest, brazen, crying, open, glowing, blinding, audacious, capital

Examples from the Web for glaring

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • "I say she shan't marry you," said Dick, glaring at the other.

    Viviette

    William J. Locke

  • The light, in short, as his was, is too glaring to be borne.

    Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • She stood out with absolute distinctness in the glaring light.

  • "There'll be somebody else as the chief identifier," said Bagley, glaring at Turl.

    The Mystery of Murray Davenport

    Robert Neilson Stephens

  • He gathered hat and stick, glaring indignantly at each of them and then at us.

    Ruggles of Red Gap

    Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for glaring

glaring

adjective
  1. conspicuousa glaring omission
  2. dazzling or garish
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Derived Formsglaringly, adverbglaringness, noun

glare1

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
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noun
  1. an angry stare
  2. a dazzling light or brilliance
  3. garish ornamentation or appearance; gaudiness
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Derived Formsglareless, adjectiveglary, adjective

Word Origin

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

glare2

adjective
  1. mainly US and Canadian smooth and glassyglare ice
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Word Origin

C16: special use of glare 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for glaring

adj.

late 14c., from present participle of glare. Meaning "obtrusively conspicuous" is from 1706.

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glare

v.

late 13c., "shine brightly," from or related to Middle Dutch, Middle Low German glaren "to gleam," related by rhoticization to glas (see glass). Sense of "stare fiercely" is from late 14c. The noun is c.1400 in sense "bright light;" 1660s in sense of "fierce look." Old English glær (n.) meant "amber." Related: Glared; glaring.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper