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| stare (stâr) v. stared, star·ing, stares v.intr.1. To look directly and fixedly, often with a wide-eyed gaze. See Synonyms at gaze. 2. To be conspicuous; stand out. 3. To stand on end; bristle, as hair or feathers. v.tr. To look at directly and fixedly: stared him in the eyes. Phrasal Verb: stare down To cause to waver or give in by or as if by staring. Idiom: stare (one) in the face1. To be plainly visible or obvious; force itself on (one's) attention: The money on the table was staring her in the face. 2. To be obvious though initially overlooked: The explanation had been staring him in the face all along. 3. To be imminent or unavoidable: Bankruptcy now stares us in the face.
[Middle English staren, from Old English starian; see ster-1 in Indo-European roots.]
star er n. |
Stares See Also: FROWNS, LOOKS - Dug his blue eyes into me, like nails —Jay Parini
- (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
- Stared at each other quietly, like enemies —Robert Campbell
- Stared at him, holding him, like the high point on a compass —Richard Ford
- 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 - Stared at me like blocks of wood —Donald Justice
- Stared blankly at me like a dead fish —Joe Coomer
- (Had no expression in his gray eyes. He) stared like a cat at an empty window —Bill Granger
- Stared … with the intensity of a man having a private audience with an angel —James Morrow
- Stares at me like I’m dirt he intends to one day wipe off his shoes —Robert Campbell
See Also: CONTEMPT - Stares at my idea like a crystal vase suspended in his mind’s rare ether —Richard Ford
- (Powell’s) stare seemed to pinch her like a pair of tongs —Flannery O’Connor
- (Stood there) staring at him like a stunned ox —Oakley Hall
- Staring at me with a studied air, as though measuring me —Kent Nelson
- Staring into his face like a devotee before an idol —Elizabeth Spencer
- Staring like rustics at a fair —Henry James
- A way … of staring at the wall or at the window like a detective at a murder scene, desperate for clues —Clive Barker
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