gaze
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A fixed look.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
gayzIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡeɪz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A fixed look; a look of eagerness, wonder, or admiration; a continued look of attention.
A long fixed look
“He fixed his paternal gaze on me.”
verb
intransitive
To stare intently or earnestly.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A fixed look; a look of eagerness, wonder, or admiration; a continued look of attention.
Used this way, gaze is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It carries warmth, so it reads as personal rather than detached.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Keen and enthusiastic
- Usage feel
- Warm and expressive
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use gaze
- “He fixed his paternal gaze on me.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.