Library / English Dictionary

STARE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A fixed look with eyes open wide

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("stare" is a kind of...):

look; looking; looking at (the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stare"):

gaze; regard (a long fixed look)

glare; glower (an angry stare)

contemplation (a long and thoughtful observation)

gape (a stare of amazement (usually with the mouth open))

Derivation:

stare (fixate one's eyes)

stare (look at with fixed eyes)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fixate one's eyes

Example:

The ancestor in the painting is staring down menacingly

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "stare" is one way to...):

look (perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stare"):

glare; glower (look at with a fixed gaze)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

They stare up the hill

Derivation:

stare (a fixed look with eyes open wide)

starer (a viewer who gazes fixedly (often with hostility))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Look at with fixed eyes

Example:

The students stared at the teacher with amazement

Synonyms:

gaze; stare

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "stare" is one way to...):

look (perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stare"):

outface; outstare; stare down (overcome or cause to waver or submit by (or as if by) staring)

stargaze (observe the stars)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

They stare up the hill

Derivation:

stare (a fixed look with eyes open wide)

starer (a viewer who gazes fixedly (often with hostility))

Credits

 Context examples: 

The girls stared at their father.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The evening sun shone upon the brilliant stones; they glittered and sparkled with all colours so beautifully that the children stood still and stared at them.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

She came up to me, claimed me as an acquaintance, stared me out of countenance; and talked and laughed till I did not know which way to look.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

The woman was beckoning him from the chaise, and he staring up at her with the queerest expression upon his face.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Walt and Madge stared at each other. The miracle had happened. Wolf had barked.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Why does he fling himself from his horse and stare so strangely about him?

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mr. Palmer looked up on her entering the room, stared at her some minutes, and then returned to his newspaper.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Here I am, you see, staring at a picture.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

The King stared at him in amazement.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The company all stared at me as I passed straight among them.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)