Gaze (gāz), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Gazed (gāzd); p. pr. & vb. n. Gazing.] [OE. gasen, akin to dial. Sw. gasa, cf. Goth. us-gaisjan to terrify, us-geisnan to be terrified. Cf. Aghast, Ghastly, Ghost, Hesitate.] To fix the eyes in a steady and earnest look; to look with eagerness or curiosity, as in admiration, astonishment, or with studious attention.
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Why stand ye gazing up into heaven? Acts i. 11.
Syn. -- To gape; stare; look. -- To Gaze, Gape, Stare. To gaze is to look with fixed and prolonged attention, awakened by excited interest or elevated emotion; to gape is to look fixedly, with open mouth and feelings of ignorant wonder; to stare is to look with the fixedness of insolence or of idiocy. The lover of nature gazes with delight on the beauties of the landscape; the rustic gapes with wonder at the strange sights of a large city; the idiot stares on those around with a vacant look.
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