LOOKING ON Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

looking on

verb

present participle of look on

as in staring

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for looking on

Verb

Finkelstein is also part of another program that will attempt to re-create Hubble and JWST’s famous deep-field images, which revealed millions of previously unseen galaxies by staring at seemingly empty patches of sky.

— Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 27 Aug. 2026
When producer Robert Stigwood initially approached him about staring in the Sgt.

— Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of staring

Verb

Their mornings begin with coffee and toast on the deck, gazing over the village rooftops to the ocean.

— Barbara Bry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026
Deployed in 2004, the Swift Observatory spent over two decades gazing into some of the universe’s most powerful explosions.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of gazing

Verb

Procapil brings biotinoyl tripeptide-1 together with botanical ingredients that help fortify follicles and anchor hair at the root, while Capixyl combines acetyl tetrapeptide-3 with red clover extract for stronger, denser-looking hair.

— Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 28 Aug. 2026
Just when things are looking dire for John and Sarah, the T-800 reboots on auxiliary power and shoots the T-1000 with a grenade launcher.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of looking

Verb

As positive as the opening-weekend performance against Liverpool was, Newcastle lacked any sort of authority in midfield, where there were gaping holes at time.

— Chris Waugh, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Tubes from hospital equipment were still attached to his face, gunshot wounds on his right side were still gaping, and tattoos which included a gun and a bullet casing were still embedded in his skin, a permanent memorial to the tools of his demise.

— Andy Rose, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of gaping

Verb

On most days the Jewel House in the Tower of London is packed with tourists gawking at the fabled British Crown Jewels.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
Instead, the skin-frying Friday saw common flow of people going through, gawking at the large screens and a group of sailors allowing some passing by to do pull-ups from a bar.

— Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 3 July 2026

Definition of gawking

Verb

After some major modifications, it's set to begin its five-year mission peering at new supernovas, distant galaxies and planets orbiting stars outside our solar system.

— Berly McCoy, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
On stage, the audience is the camera, peering into a cutaway of set designer Fly Davis’ ominous, two-story house, lit with foreboding foreshadowing by Anna Watson.

— Frank Rizzo, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of peering

Verb

During an operation, a surgeon controls robotic arms fitted with small instruments while viewing the surgical area through a three-dimensional vision system.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
On the plus side, the viewing angle is pretty wide at 178 degrees, so even four people wide, taking turns playing games, will all see the screen just fine.

— Joe Salas August 28, New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of viewing

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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“Looking on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/looking%20on. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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verb

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