gaze

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“
I interrupted myself eagerly, as my gaze was arrested by a group of some ten or a dozen dark dots moving slowly among the long grass at the opposite extremity of the valley.

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Definitions (16)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. intransitive verb To look steadily, intently, and with fixed attention.
  2. noun A steady, fixed look.
  3. Syntax Note
    Synonyms: gaze, stare, gape, gawk, glare1, peer1
    These verbs mean to look long and intently. Gaze is often indicative of wonder, fascination, awe, or admiration: gazing at the stars.
    Stare can indicate curiosity, boldness, insolence, or stupidity: stared at them in disbelief.
    Gape suggests a prolonged open-mouthed look reflecting amazement, awe, or lack of intelligence: tourists gaping at the sights.
    To gawk is to gape or stare stupidly: Drivers gawked at the disabled truck.
    To glare is to fix another with a hard, piercing stare: glared furiously at me.
    To peer is to look narrowly, searchingly, and seemingly with difficulty: peered at us through her glasses.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (8)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

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Examples (50)

  • I oughta called you, I suppose, but I haven't been thinking too straight since you come the other day and told me--' She half-turned, gestured at the crematorium; Malone couldn't tell whether her gaze was at ground-level or at the top of the chimney, where the smoke was dribbling away as a faint wisp. —  Cleary, Melissa - Dog Mystery 04 - Skull and Dog Bones
  • His voice drifted off and his eyes remained locked on the man who'd hired him, as if the strength of his gaze might be all that held the climber to the cliff face In a few minutes, the man below had crept around the worst of the boulders, and appeared to have a straight, if laborious, scramble to the sandy beach. —  King, Laurie R - Russell-Holmes 08 - Locked Rooms
  • Then, despite his efforts, his gaze was again drawn to the Princess. —  Startling Stories January, 1939
  • When she let her shift drop from her body, his gaze was as rapt as hers had been, and her resolve to simply perform her task fled. —  Gaston, Diane - The Mysterious Miss M
  • He stared now at the mutant and his gaze was anything but pleasant. —  Norton, Andre - Uncharted Stars (v1.0) (html).html
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This word has been looked up 158 times.

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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

stare ·  glance ·  smile ·  look ·  countenance ·  eye ·  brow ·  attention ·  mood ·  silence ·  thought ·  gleam

Used in the same contextWord Family

gaze:   gazed ·  gazing ·  gazes
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English gasen, probably of Scandinavian origin.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English gasen, prob. of Scandinavian origin, from Swedish dial. gasa, gaze, stare (gasa åkring se, gaze or stare about one). Connection with the root of gast, frighten, Gothic (Moesogothic) us-gaisjan, make afraid, us-geisnan, be amazed, is uncertain. For the supposed relation to gare, see gare.
  2. from gaze, v.
 

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/geɪz/
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