leering
Americanadjective
-
indicating lewd, sly, or malicious intent.
He regarded her with a leering grin as she walked slowly up the path.
-
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
- leeringly adverb
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
Her mouth hung open in a leering smile, and her teeth were large and razor sharp, with a prominent set of gleaming white incisors.
From Literature
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The final shot is one of the most foreboding in Hollywood history, with Nazis in uniform reflected in the cabaret’s distorted mirror, leering from the VIP seats at the front of the stage.
From Salon
But when she played the early solo cut “Money” too, a leering rap banger, she showed she’s always had this in her.
From Los Angeles Times
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
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.