squinting

verb

present participle of squint
as in peering
to take a look with the eyes narrowed (as because of difficulty seeing) He squinted in her direction, but couldn't make her out with the sun behind her.

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of squinting The cops arrived hours past midnight, turning on the lights to reveal an army of dazed, squinting faces. — Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 That would be the largest in league history and bring his career earnings within squinting distance of one billion. — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2026 The Internet armchair critics crying foul and other automakers squinting real hard can all stop wondering, questioning, and doubting whether the Ford Mustang GTD Competition achieved the unthinkable on street-legal tires. — Joel Feder, The Drive, 13 Aug. 2026 To help prevent wrinkles from forming around your eyes naturally, Zeichner recommends wearing sunglasses in the sun, as well as regular glasses to prevent squinting. — Daley Quinn, Glamour, 9 July 2026 No more squinting at raw tape and praying for a basketball IQ transplant. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 24 June 2026 Tired of squinting at your dim, blurry TV? — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 22 June 2026 Getting there requires a bit of squinting. — John Hollinger, New York Times, 20 June 2026 And though the wave is turning, Ahn is already squinting at the horizon for the next one. — Joshua Encinias, IndieWire, 17 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squinting
  1. peering
  2. staring
  3. glancing
  4. blinking
  5. peeping
  6. gazing
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
  • 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
  • Lady Holiday listlessly turns the pages, barely glancing at Miss Piggy in various outfits.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Some of the men in the room could be seen glancing nervously at their dates.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of glancing
Verb
  • Songs were deconstructed and reconstructed each night as the pair hunched over their blinking arrays.
    — Will Pritchard, Pitchfork, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The car’s hazard-warning lights were blinking the whole time.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of blinking
Verb
  • Next month marks the arrival of fall, the quintessential New England season that includes apple picking, crisp autumn air and the arrival of leaf-peeping season.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 24 Aug. 2026
  • In a new analysis, RV rental company RVshare spotlighted the top national forests in the United States for fall road trips, and many of them include excellent leaf-peeping opportunities to see the dazzling foliage up close.
    — Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of peeping
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

Browse Nearby Words

squinted
squinting
squints
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Cite this Entry

“Squinting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squinting. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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