staring

[stair-ing]

adjective

1. gazing fixedly and intently, especially with the eyes wide open.

   Standing in front of Jane’s staring face, Ravi lifted the conch shell above his head and smashed it into a hundred pieces on the floor.

2. boldly, inescapably, or obnoxiously conspicuous; glaring.

   Whenever I dwell on my own shortcomings, they begin to seem mild and harmless, not at all like the staring defects in other people's characters.

adverb

1. Chiefly British.,  glaringly or conspicuously; thoroughly (often preceded bystark ).

   This "borrow and spend" policy is stark staring bonkers.

Other Word Forms

• staringly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of staring¹

star(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

These new forms of entertainment are becoming the lake to our Narcissus: You can gaze into your phone and see yourself staring back, having all kinds of thrills, spills and chills.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In reality, Noem was on a rooftop staring at photojournalists, fewer than a dozen protesters — and one guy in a chicken suit.

Read more on Salon

Instead, when they lost, Bradley’s decision became emblematic of why the Americans were staring at a historic deficit going into the final day.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

However, once Bruno Guimaraes opened the scoring with a curling effort, leaving Postecoglou staring into the distance as he shook his head on the touchline, Forest never looked like getting back into this game.

Read more on BBC

Maybe that should have been staring the party in the face: her original pitch for the job was "Renewal 2030" - a date past the next general election.

Read more on BBC