Stares


stare

S0697100 (stâr)v. stared, star·ing, stares v.intr. To look directly, fixedly, or vacantly, often with a wide-eyed gaze. See Synonyms at gaze.v.tr. To look at directly and fixedly: stared him in the eyes.n. An intent gaze.Phrasal Verb: stare down1. To stare at (a person or animal) until that person or animal blinks or turns away.2. To confront boldly or overcome by direct action: stared down his opponents.Idiom: stare in the face1. To be plainly visible or obvious to (one); force itself on (one's) attention: The money on the table was staring her in the face.2. To be obvious to (one) though initially overlooked: The explanation had been staring him in the face all along.3. To be imminent or unavoidable to (one): Bankruptcy now stares us in the face.4. To be about to experience or undergo (something dire): We are staring bankruptcy in the face.
[Middle English staren, from Old English starian; see ster- in Indo-European roots.]
star′er n.

Stares

 

See Also: FROWNS, LOOKS

  1. Dug his blue eyes into me, like nails —Jay Parini
  2. (I’ve been feeling your) eyes boring into me like a pair of yellow jackets. She had a curiously intense stare, like a greedy child waiting for sweets —Beryl Bainbridge
  3. Stared at each other quietly, like enemies —Robert Campbell
  4. Stared at him, holding him, like the high point on a compass —Richard Ford
  5. Stared at [a question] keenly as if it were a fly that he was waiting to swat when it came round again —V.S. Pritchett

    See Also: SCRUTINY

  6. Stared at me like blocks of wood —Donald Justice
  7. Stared blankly at me like a dead fish —Joe Coomer
  8. (Had no expression in his gray eyes. He) stared like a cat at an empty window —Bill Granger
  9. Stared … with the intensity of a man having a private audience with an angel —James Morrow
  10. Stares at me like I’m dirt he intends to one day wipe off his shoes —Robert Campbell

    See Also: CONTEMPT

  11. Stares at my idea like a crystal vase suspended in his mind’s rare ether —Richard Ford
  12. (Powell’s) stare seemed to pinch her like a pair of tongs —Flannery O’Connor
  13. (Stood there) staring at him like a stunned ox —Oakley Hall
  14. Staring at me with a studied air, as though measuring me —Kent Nelson
  15. Staring into his face like a devotee before an idol —Elizabeth Spencer
  16. Staring like rustics at a fair —Henry James
  17. A way … of staring at the wall or at the window like a detective at a murder scene, desperate for clues —Clive Barker