as in eavesdropping
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Dissimilar Words
as in gawking
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
thoughtless drivers pausing on the highway to rubberneck at the accident
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Recent Examples of rubbernecking
Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Verb
The whole of football is rubbernecking in their direction.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubbernecking
Noun
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Anadolu via Getty Images Apple users are starting to receive their share of a $95 million cash payout to settle a class action case alleging Siri eavesdropping.—
Kate O'Flaherty,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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Only a few other animals, like parrots and apes, have demonstrated a knack for this kind of eavesdropping.—
Adithi Ramakrishnan,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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If gawking at celebrities is your thing.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
20 Jan. 2026
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Here, astronomers are gawking at a radio signal that appears crudely on the screen like a crooked game of Pong but turns out to be a line of data repeated every 78 seconds from 600 light-years away.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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These activities, conducted outside normal flight paths near El Paso International Airport, caused FAA concern about possible interference with civilian flights.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Feb. 2026
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If this pilot study is to contribute meaningfully to the evidence base, its methods, data and results must be accessible and insulated from political interference.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Jordan Stolz, sitting opposite of the finish line staring at a large video board, looked at his coach and nodded.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
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Most of the crowd is talking quietly among themselves, oblivious to Trevor Yeakley’s gaze, except for two men staring daggers right back at him.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Getting rocked to sleep in a comfortable bed while gazing out the window is not to be missed.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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In the Kardashian-Jenner version, Jenner, in a plunging black dress, played the part of Loren, gazing over at Kardashian who smiled at the camera in a blonde wig and plunging white silk dress.—
Meg Walters,
InStyle,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Potential jurors expressed a range of opinions on social media during jury selection questioning, with some appearing concerned about the companies’ impact on society, their children and their older parents.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
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Her questioning of him and his answers led her to connect Disney to secret, massive land purchases in Orange and Osceola counties.—
Roger Simmons,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Videos of the shooting have spread online and appear to show Good, 37, being told to get out of her car, with one agent walking and prying at the door handle.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
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That was what led the princess to send her staff away and sneak the BBC crew in for the interview, isolating herself in the face of Bashir’s prying questions.—
Theresa Braine,
Mercury News,
26 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rubbernecking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubbernecking. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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