onlooking
Americanadjective
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looking on; observing; perceiving.
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looking onward or foreboding.
Etymology
Origin of onlooking
1655–65; on + looking ( def. ), after verb phrase look on
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On Sept. 19, 2018, South Korea's defence minister and his North Korean counterpart signed the CMA in the North's capital, Pyongyang, accompanied by polite applause from the onlooking leaders.
From Reuters • Nov. 22, 2023
Then you have the onlooking play, where they're beginning to think, "Hm, I wonder what somebody else is doing."
From Salon • Oct. 6, 2023
In Virginia, bagpipes and The Star-Spangled Banner were performed in front of military personnel and onlooking civilians at the Pentagon.
From BBC • Sep. 11, 2023
The “focal” behavior, which both the confederate and an onlooking researcher recorded, was holding the door.
From Scientific American • Sep. 21, 2021
“Thank you,” the beggar said in a much stronger voice, and he bowed to the onlooking people.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
