Synonyms

in the public eye

Idioms

Under the attention and scrutiny of the public, as in The rock star's activities were very much in the public eye. This usage, which is similar to in the limelight, dates from the late 1800s. It should not be confused with the similar-sounding in the eyes of the public, which means “in the opinion or views of the general public” (as in In the eyes of the public the mayor was guilty of perjury). Also see in the eye of, def. 2.

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in the public eye

A whole new genre of celebrity divorce: Slate’s Scaachi Koul considers how Bunnie Xo, an archetypical “Cool Girl,” seems to have masterminded a new strategy for getting divorced in the public eye.

From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026

The firm still isn’t entirely at ease in the public eye.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

Rather, many of them are engineers, mathematicians and others who are naturally uncomfortable in the public eye.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

"That's the thing about Eurovision, it's almost the opposite of some things I've done in the public eye in the past where people want to judge and give bad comments," she says.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

He is too damaged by grief to be in the public eye.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

in the public eye

Example Sentences

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