Meaning & use

leer

verb·Advanced

To look at someone or something in a sly, lecherous, or unpleasantly suggestive way.

See it in a sentence

The stranger leered at passersby from the corner, making everyone uncomfortable.

He leered over her shoulder, trying to read the private message on her phone.

A note on using this word

Leer almost always implies an unwelcome or unsettling look, either sexually suggestive or sly and menacing.

Words with a similar meaning

oglegawk

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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