leering
Americanadjective
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indicating lewd, sly, or malicious intent.
He regarded her with a leering grin as she walked slowly up the path.
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having a lewd, sly, or malicious look.
The massive door, with a leering gargoyle for a knocker, lent the scene an air of unreality.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of leering
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.
At the gym, located in Garden Grove, Hansen says they were met with unwelcoming and leering stares before entering the facility.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026
There are T-shirts, phones, watches, furniture, clocks, slippers, tents, wallets, trading cards, eye shadow and roller skates with Garfield’s leering image.
From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2024
He added it was a "privilege and honour" to be now playing the leering, flamboyant Emcee in "this incredible show".
From BBC • Aug. 15, 2023
The Washington Commanders have jettisoned the leering cruds who made up Snyder’s inner circle and replaced them with sober, empathetic professionals such as Jason Wright, and Snyder was fined $10 million.
From Washington Post • Jul. 4, 2022
At the foot of my bed, the block tower loomed, jagged and leering.
From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon
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.
