gazed; gazing; gazes
: to fix the eyes in a steady intent look often with eagerness or studious attention
gazed out the window at the snow
gazer
noun
plural gazers
plural gazes
1
: a fixed intent look
a steady gaze
He fixed his gaze out the window.
She lowered/dropped/raised her gaze.
I met his gaze. [=I looked back at him.]
2
: the collective preferences and expectations of a usually privileged social group especially when imposed as a standard or norm on other groups
In 1973, British feminist film writer Laura Mulvey wrote a seminal essay called "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", which explored how mainstream films appealed to a male gaze—a term she coined—because the industry was dominated by men who, inevitably, constructed representations of women from a masculine point of view.—
Kerrie O'Brien
Kerrie O'BrienSo few slots are available for nonwhite writers that those who break through are sometimes themselves charged with … exaggerating elements of their culture for a white gaze; living up to the image that white writers have created for them, the easier to be packaged and sold.—Ligaya Mishan
Ligaya MishanIt looks like a gentle scene of a seaside vacation. But this painting by Berthe Morisot, perhaps the most underrated Impressionist, is a layered vision of a dawning modern age and a rare glimpse at the 19th-century female gaze.—Natasha Frost
Natasha FrostSynonyms
Examples of gaze in a Sentence
Verb
He gazed out the window at the snow.
She gazed intently into his eyes.
Noun
She looked at him with a calm, steady gaze.
suddenly aware of her admiring gaze, he became self-conscious and uncomfortable
Recent Examples on the Web
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 6 Nov. 2024
And the panels, stocked with multiple top personalities, give viewers something new upon which to gaze.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024
Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Nov. 2024
Eastwood’s unhurried gaze allows the characters’ humanity to shine through.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gaze 
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Verb
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For thousands of years, gazing upward was how astronomers studied the sky above.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 6 Nov. 2024
And the panels, stocked with multiple top personalities, give viewers something new upon which to gaze.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
But when the Hubble Space Telescope turned its gaze toward Neptune’s dark eye in 1994, the spot had disappeared.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Nov. 2024
Eastwood’s unhurried gaze allows the characters’ humanity to shine through.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gaze
Dictionary Entries Near gaze
Cite this Entry
“Gaze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaze. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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