stare
- to gaze fixedly and intently, especially with the eyes wide open.
- to be boldly or obtrusively conspicuous: The bright modern painting stares out at you in the otherwise conservative gallery.
- (of hair, feathers, etc.) to stand on end; bristle.
- to stare at: to stare a person up and down.
- to effect or have a certain effect on by staring: to stare one out of countenance.
- a staring gaze; a fixed look with the eyes wide open: The banker greeted him with a glassy stare.
- stare down, to cause to become uncomfortable by gazing steadily at one; overcome by staring: A nonsmoker at the next table tried to stare me down.
- stare one in the face, to be urgent or impending; confront: The income-tax deadline is staring us in the face.
Origin of stare
Synonyms for stare
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for stare
peer, beam, glare, look, gawk, rubberneck, eye, fix, goggle, focus, gaze, ogle, bore, eyeball, rivet, glimExamples from the Web for stare
Contemporary Examples of stare
Then he's quiet, while I, nonplussed, just stare until he adds, “The camera must never move.”
The teen refused to drop his knife, according to officers, fixed them with “a 100-yard stare,” and walked toward them.
Strong, young, crisply uniformed, he or she would shake, sigh, stare blankly, or cry, recounting variations of this statement.
Over green tea, Than Gyi told us about her village, interrupting herself frequently to stare at us and laugh.
We stare in the mirror, we compare ourselves with digitally enhanced images of perfect women, and feel all wrong.
Nicole Kidman Botox Insanity: Why All Women Lose Out When We Obsess Over Stars’ FacesEmma Woolf
May 25, 2014
Historical Examples of stare
Why does he fling himself from his horse and stare so strangely about him?
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
She turned to stare at the Inspector with eyes that were very clear and very hard.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
I thought he must be crazed by over-study, and I could only sit and stare at him, open-mouthed.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
Simba continued to stare, and Kingozi had lifted his prism glasses.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
Kingozi, nursing the bowl of his pipe, continued to stare up at him.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
stare
1- (intr often foll by at) to look or gaze fixedly, often with hostility or rudeness
- (intr) (of an animal's fur, bird's feathers, etc) to stand on end because of fear, ill health, etc
- (intr) to stand out as obvious; glare
- stare one in the face to be glaringly obvious or imminent
- the act or an instance of staring
Word Origin for stare
stare
2- dialect a starling
Word Origin for stare
Word Origin and History for stare
Old English starian "to look fixedly at," from Proto-Germanic *star- "be rigid" (cf. Old Norse stara, Middle Low German and Middle Dutch staren, Old High German staren, German starren "to stare at;" German starren "to stiffen," starr "stiff;" Old Norse storr "proud;" Old High German storren "to stand out, project;" Gothic andstaurran "to be obstinate"), from PIE root *ster- "strong, firm, stiff, rigid" (cf. Lithuanian storas "thick," stregti "to become frozen;" Sanskrit sthirah "hard, firm;" Persian suturg "strong;" Old Church Slavonic staru "old;" cf. sterile and torpor). Not originally implying rudeness. Related: Stared; staring.
"starling," from Old English (see starling).