as in gazed
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
her friends stared in disbelief upon seeing her walking arm in arm with her ex-husband
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Recent Examples of stared
For a few seconds, everyone at Progressive Field — players, umpires, fans, cotton candy vendors — stared at the video board, awaiting the handy diagram that would determine whether the Cleveland Guardians’ lead was in jeopardy.
—
Zack Meisel, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
Chasing Horse, wearing his navy blue Clark County Detention Center uniform, stared straight ahead as victims read their statements.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
Variety previously reported that the Michael film's original script included one scene in which Michael stared at himself in the mirror, capturing his gaze as police car lights flashed behind him, in 1993, just after the singer was accused of child molestation.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 26 Apr. 2026
His team stared at four large vertical monitors.
—Chang Che, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
Anyone who has ever stared at a blank page knows that getting from idea to finished manuscript is the hard part.
—Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 21 Apr. 2026
The audience stared at the models, tried to turn away.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
Immigration officers wearing bulky green vests sat inside the vehicle and stared at Elmer and the Hispanic men standing with him.
—Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50, 17 Apr. 2026
In the background, a spoked wheel leaned against the building on one side, and a man stared at the ground, his face nearly obscured by a cowboy hat.
—Jack Armstrong, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Zack Meisel, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
Chasing Horse, wearing his navy blue Clark County Detention Center uniform, stared straight ahead as victims read their statements.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
Variety previously reported that the Michael film's original script included one scene in which Michael stared at himself in the mirror, capturing his gaze as police car lights flashed behind him, in 1993, just after the singer was accused of child molestation.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 26 Apr. 2026
His team stared at four large vertical monitors.
—Chang Che, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
Anyone who has ever stared at a blank page knows that getting from idea to finished manuscript is the hard part.
—Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 21 Apr. 2026
The audience stared at the models, tried to turn away.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
Immigration officers wearing bulky green vests sat inside the vehicle and stared at Elmer and the Hispanic men standing with him.
—Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50, 17 Apr. 2026
In the background, a spoked wheel leaned against the building on one side, and a man stared at the ground, his face nearly obscured by a cowboy hat.
—Jack Armstrong, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stared
Verb
-
Rubin-Vega gazed toward the under-stairs entrance to her former apartment.—
Sarah Larson,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
In the first image, Cole gazed lovingly at the Little Women star, who wrapped her arm around his shoulder.—
Hannah Malach,
InStyle,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Locals complained tourist gawked at them or traipsed through their yards.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Onlookers gawked from the balconies of nearby condo towers.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) peered 10,000 light-years into space to trace the origin of buckyballs, which are large and hollow molecules resembling a soccer ball.—
Elizabeth Howell,
Space.com,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Christel Krueger peered through thick glass and murky water at the Berlin Zoo, staring in awe at a mother hippopotamus and her child sleeping on a sandbar.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stared. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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