as in staring
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
she suddenly realized she had been gaping at the good-looking waiter instead of giving him her order
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in wide
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gaping
Nina McLaughlin, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Mar. 2023
Newsom won with 80 percent of the vote in Alameda County in 2018; two years later President Biden and Vice President Harris won the county by an equally gaping margin.
—Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2021
For people who lost their mothers to COVID-19, this Mother's Day is a reminder of a freshly gaping void.
—Alia E. Dastagir, USA TODAY, 7 May 2021
Then again, no one knew Dallas would lose four key players to the coronavirus for the better part of three weeks, the most gaping puncture wound that caused bloody January.
—Brad Townsend, Dallas News, 31 Jan. 2021
See All Example Sentences for gaping
Verb
There is a gaping sense of hunger, particularly in a story of a love between two women, one with a crescent moon tattoo on her chest.
—Nina McLaughlin, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Mar. 2023
Newsom won with 80 percent of the vote in Alameda County in 2018; two years later President Biden and Vice President Harris won the county by an equally gaping margin.
—Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2021
For people who lost their mothers to COVID-19, this Mother's Day is a reminder of a freshly gaping void.
—Alia E. Dastagir, USA TODAY, 7 May 2021
Then again, no one knew Dallas would lose four key players to the coronavirus for the better part of three weeks, the most gaping puncture wound that caused bloody January.
—Brad Townsend, Dallas News, 31 Jan. 2021
See All Example Sentences for gaping
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaping
Adjective
-
With a sound profile that’s been engineered for accuracy, the wide and flat frequency response of the MR5 starts off at 46Hz and extends to 40kHz, which is quite a large step beyond the 20kHz that many studio monitors end at.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
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In February, Rocky was announced as the creative director of Ray-Ban Studios, a creative platform that launched in 2011 to celebrate the power of music and the stories of a wide range of artists.—
Renan Botelho,
Footwear News,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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Yet the shooting also divided the American public in ways that many found disturbing, including a yawning lack of empathy for the victim and even cheering for the shooter.—
Patrik Jonsson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
10 Dec. 2024
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The nation has also a yawning fiscal deficit, a trade deficit of $43 billion, plus a daunting $45 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund, with $10.6 billion due to the multilateral and private creditors by April.—
Débora Rey,
The Christian Science Monitor,
13 Dec. 2023
Adjective
-
The formal living room sports soaring ceilings lined with exposed beams, while the more casual family room is surrounded by walls of windows and topped with a skylight for even more natural light.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
17 July 2025
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Yet, the bill pares back support for wind and solar projects that typically complement gas plants—potentially leaving the grid more exposed, not less.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gaping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaping. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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