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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in eavesdropping
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubbernecking
Verb
-
But the cringe-comedy antics of the original NBC series landed far better in Season 3 than in Season 1, once audiences began to truly love the characters instead of just gawking at them.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025 -
Nunn has a divided audience, as the Baddies show is fueled with drama, with Jerry Springer style fights to keep viewers gawking.—
Nadja Sayej,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The agreement comes after intense scrutiny over China’s intelligence operations in Cuba, after earlier reports in 2023 that Beijing and Havana might have inked a deal to build a new eavesdropping site.—
Nora Gamez Torres,
Miami Herald,
26 Aug. 2025
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Colleagues would talk for hours with the powerful and the secretive; a conversation with Julian Assange required technological methods that we were not permitted to discuss, to discourage eavesdropping.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In a brief video snippet accompanying the post, Cyrus is seen in close-up staring directly into the camera while wearing what looks like surgical gauze around her chin and head as more white material is blown by a breeze around her face.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
16 Sep. 2025
-
As her 3-year-old began moving and removing her hand from her face and staring across the restaurant, Ariana followed her daughter's eyes to see another man seated far away from them.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Anglo-Saxons, who have been given the multiracial treatment by the BBC’s casting directors, are squabbling natives whose weakness invites foreign interference.—
Will Collins,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Marina took advantage of a couple of penalties to move upfield, a horse collar tackle and a pass interference call where Saporito and Ramos took turns running the ball to move into scoring territory.—
David Delgado,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In February, the expectant mother shared several snaps from their engagement on Instagram, including a picture of them gazing in each other's eyes and one of Bowen putting her veil over Zuckerman's head.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Jämsén sees this series as being about gazing at the water, rather than being glued to a large screen or cocktail bar inside.—
Tristan Rutherford,
Robb Report,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The questioning was amplified by the official HHS and White House rapid response social media accounts.—
Nathaniel Weixel,
The Hill,
17 Sep. 2025
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Studies on workplace learning have shown that time for reflection and questioning is essential for retention and problem-solving, yet this often gets cut in the name of efficiency.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The film stages its riot of activity as hard-nosed honesty, but its portrait is ultimately as ginned-up and inexact as the fictional news broadcast’s lurid prying.—
Richard Lawson,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
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Other prying eyes won’t have access to the documents, either.—
Zoe Guy,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Rubbernecking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubbernecking. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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