QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Idioms for stare

    stare one in the face, to be urgent or impending; confront: The income-tax deadline is staring us in the face.

Origin of stare

before 900; Middle English staren, Old English starian; cognate with Dutch staren, German starren, Old Norse stara; akin to stark, starve

SYNONYMS FOR stare

1 See gaze.

OTHER WORDS FROM stare

star·er, nounstar·ing·ly, adverb

Words nearby stare

starch syrup, starch-reduced, starchy, stardom, stardust, stare, stare decisis, stare down, stare in the face, stare out, starets
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for stare in the face (1 of 2)

stare1
/ (stɛə) /

verb

(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

noun

the act or an instance of staring

Derived forms of stare

starer, noun

Word Origin for stare

Old English starian; related to Old Norse stara, Old High German starēn to stare, Greek stereos stiff, Latin consternāre to confuse

British Dictionary definitions for stare in the face (2 of 2)

stare2
/ (stɛə) /

noun

dialect a starling

Word Origin for stare

Old English stær
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

Idioms and Phrases with stare in the face

stare in the face

Also, look in the face. Be glaringly obvious, although initially overlooked, as in The solution to the problem had been staring me in the face all along, or I wouldn't know a Tibetan terrier if it looked me in the face. [Late 1600s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.