as in peered
to take a look with the eyes narrowed (as because of difficulty seeing)
He squinted in her direction, but couldn't make her out with the sun behind her.
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Recent Examples of squinted
Pok squinted against his bedroom's harsh, swinging light.
—
Danielle Parker, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026
Dressed in periwinkle, Annie took off her shoes in front of the sunflowers, sat down, squinted into the sunlight and smiled.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 11 Mar. 2026
Carson squinted at prices before hooking the fuel nozzle to the tank of his scarlet Buick.
—Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Mar. 2026
Giles cranked the boat back around, leaned out from behind the steering wheel and squinted past a bright glare on the water.
—Kelso Harper, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
Amid the eucalyptus groves at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, local bug enthusiast Sasha Hernandez squinted through the draping green leaves, searching for flashes of black and orange — the wings of migratory monarch butterflies traveling from west of the Rocky Mountains.
—Olivia Maule, Mercury News, 6 Dec. 2025
The page squinted up at the nightingale, her dull feathers and stippled breast.
—Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
The Babycatcher looked up at the sky and squinted.
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
Danielle Parker, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026
Dressed in periwinkle, Annie took off her shoes in front of the sunflowers, sat down, squinted into the sunlight and smiled.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 11 Mar. 2026
Carson squinted at prices before hooking the fuel nozzle to the tank of his scarlet Buick.
—Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Mar. 2026
Giles cranked the boat back around, leaned out from behind the steering wheel and squinted past a bright glare on the water.
—Kelso Harper, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
Amid the eucalyptus groves at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, local bug enthusiast Sasha Hernandez squinted through the draping green leaves, searching for flashes of black and orange — the wings of migratory monarch butterflies traveling from west of the Rocky Mountains.
—Olivia Maule, Mercury News, 6 Dec. 2025
The page squinted up at the nightingale, her dull feathers and stippled breast.
—Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
The Babycatcher looked up at the sky and squinted.
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squinted
Verb
-
Bob’s grandfather peered through the fence at League Park to catch a glimpse of Game 1 of the 1920 World Series.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
-
Until Korolev peered at it a few years ago, no one had ever seen the mineral in nature.—
James Dinneen,
Scientific American,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
My father glanced back to see if anyone was following, winked at me in the rearview mirror, and swung our car onto Broadway, toward Interstate 80, heading west.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 May 2026
-
Seated across from each other, the two men glanced around at the 10 stalls reserved for eateries.—
Audrey Pachuta,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
Colorado stared at a 3-0 deficit after the first intermission.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
14 May 2026
-
Sashko stared at the fingers for a long time.—
James Verini,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
The Nuggets stared into the eyes of a pack of Wolves, and blinked.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
1 May 2026
-
Hitchcock blinked rapidly as the drugs began flowing and took several deep breaths.—
Jeffrey Collins,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squinted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squinted. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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