Definition

1. Verb:

   • To look directly and fixedly at someone or something with one's eyes wide open, often for a prolonged period.
   • To be conspicuously visible or obvious.

2. Noun:

   • A long, fixed look with the eyes wide open.

Usage and Examples

• Verb:
  • It's rude to stare at strangers. (To look fixedly at them)
  • The answer was staring me in the face, but I couldn't see it. (To be obvious)
• Noun:
  • She gave him a cold, hard stare. (A fixed look)

Advanced Usage

• "to stare someone down/out": To look fixedly at someone until they feel compelled to look away, often as a show of dominance or defiance.
  • In the negotiation, she tried to stare him down to gain the upper hand.
• "to stare into space": To look vacantly or absently at nothing in particular, often while thinking deeply.
  • He just sat there, staring into space, lost in thought.

Variants and Related Words

• Staring (adj): (of eyes or an expression) fixed and wide open, often implying intensity or a lack of blinking.
  • His staring eyes were full of fear.
• Stare-out (n, informal): A contest where two people stare at each other until one looks away.
  • The children had a stare-out to see who would blink first.

Synonyms

• Gaze: To look steadily and intently, often with admiration or curiosity. (Less intense than stare)
• Glare: To stare in an angry or fierce way.
• Gawk: To stare openly and stupidly, often rudely.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Stare down: (Same as "stare someone down") To overcome or disconcert by staring.
  • The guard stared down the intruder until he retreated.
• Stare out: To look outward from a place for a long time.
  • He spent the afternoon staring out the window at the rain.

Related Idioms

• Stare someone in the face:
  • To look directly at someone's face.

    • I was so embarrassed I couldn't stare her in the face.
  • (Of a fact or solution) To be obvious or impossible to avoid.

    • The truth was staring us in the face all along.
• Stare into the abyss: To confront a terrifying or profound situation, often leading to a change in perspective. (Metaphorical)
  • After the failure of his company, he felt he was staring into the abyss.

Noun

1. a fixed look with eyes open wide

Verb

1. fixate one's eyes
   • The ancestor in the painting is staring down menacingly
2. look at with fixed eyes
   • The students stared at the teacher with amazement