glaring 1 of 2

glaring

2 of 2

verb

present participle of glare

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective glaring differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of glaring are flagrant, gross, and rank. While all these words mean "conspicuously bad or objectionable," glaring implies painful or damaging obtrusiveness of something that is conspicuously wrong, faulty, or improper.

glaring errors

When would flagrant be a good substitute for glaring?

The words flagrant and glaring are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, flagrant applies usually to offenses or errors so bad that they can neither escape notice nor be condoned.

flagrant abuse of the office of president

In what contexts can gross take the place of glaring?

Although the words gross and glaring have much in common, gross implies the exceeding of reasonable or excusable limits.

gross carelessness

When can rank be used instead of glaring?

The synonyms rank and glaring are sometimes interchangeable, but rank applies to what is openly and extremely objectionable and utterly condemned.

rank heresy

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of glaring
Adjective
The Gophers turned the ball over on the first possession, and their passivity and indecisiveness were most glaring with three shot-clock violations in the first half. Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 29 Jan. 2025 Throughout these horrific days — when the sun is a glaring red eye in the sky, and one evacuation alert after another floods my phone — the kindness of others has kept me afloat. Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2025
Verb
Quad’s treatment by this group is a glaring reminder of the limits of sisterhood. Shelby Stewart, Essence, 9 Dec. 2024 President Bashar al-Assad, and his late father and predecessor, Hafez, were omnipresent forces, glaring down from the many billboards, posters, and statues that were felled this week with all the exuberance, rage, and grief of the long-oppressed. Rania Abouzeid, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for glaring
Recent Examples of Synonyms for glaring
Adjective
  • Rom-com queen Kate Hudson takes on her first series lead role as Isla Gordon, a blatant Buss surrogate whose sudden promotion to president of her billionaire family’s crown jewel kicks the 10-episode season into gear.
    Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
  • Critics view it as a blatant political stunt that tarnishes the library’s ideal as an apolitical institution.
    Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • The result is glowing, dancing auroras.
    Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
  • When a comet approaches the Sun, the heat causes the ice in the nucleus to sublimate (turn directly from solid to gas), creating a glowing halo of gas and dust around the nucleus called the coma.
    Jess Thomson, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • This year organizers are acknowledging openly what’s been obvious for a while.
    Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
  • There are more than a few scenes here where the substitution of stuntman for star is obvious.
    Joe Leydon, Variety, 5 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The company built a retail and residential complex around the county’s Coconut Grove Metrorail station, and Martin also is pitching an incinerator site in western Miami-Dade as an alternative to the Levine Cava plan to rebuild the trash-burning facility in Doral.
    Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 4 Jan. 2025
  • Nearby sits a small wood-burning stove, which should be sufficient to heat the home.
    Adam Williams, New Atlas, 3 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The clip, a 53-minute visualizer posted on YouTube, shows four red stockings hanging over a blazing fireplace alongside a Christmas tree.
    Latoya Gayle, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
  • The clip, a 53-minute visualizer posted on YouTube, shows four red stockings hanging over a blazing fireplace alongside a Christmas tree.
    Latoya Gayle, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • Video of the Chinese space junk burning up shows it as several streaks of objects flaring up in the night sky.
    Tariq Malik, Space.com, 23 Dec. 2024
  • The debate has been flaring since the 2019 crash by a giant liner into the large Giudecca canal, one of the main water thoroughfares which leads to St Mark’s Square.
    Alex Ledsom, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Glaring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glaring. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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