staring

[ stair-ing ]

adjective

1. gazing fixedly and intently, especially with the eyes wide open:

   Standing in front of Jane’s staring face, Ravi lifted the conch shell above his head and smashed it into a hundred pieces on the floor.

2. boldly, inescapably, or obnoxiously conspicuous; glaring:

   Whenever I dwell on my own shortcomings, they begin to seem mild and harmless, not at all like the staring defects in other people's characters.

adverb

1. Chiefly British. glaringly or conspicuously; thoroughly (often preceded by stark ):

   This "borrow and spend" policy is stark staring bonkers.

Other Words From

• star·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of staring¹

star(e) ( def ) + -ing ²( def )

Example Sentences

The night is always supposedly darkest before the dawn — and activists are now staring at a black hole seemingly larger than what they faced in 1994.

From Los Angeles Times

I am in a high-end coffee shop in a tech-heavy area of San Francisco, staring suspiciously into a cup of espresso.

From BBC

“But looking back, I know this was my destiny. I think it’s important to know your destiny, but we usually don’t know until much later in life. We struggle, we fight against it. And we experience so much anxiety trying to find ourselves when our true selves are staring us in the face all that time.”

From Los Angeles Times

But in 2022, with inflation ripping and Democrats staring down defeat, the Biden White House made a major announcement just 10 weeks before Election Day: The administration would be canceling $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000.

From Slate

Lolesio slotted to put Australia 10 points clear and, with little over 25 minutes left, England were staring down the barrel.

From BBC