thousand-yard stare

Meanings

1. 1nounsingular

   A blank, unfocused look into the distance by someone who is deeply shocked, exhausted or traumatised, as if seeing nothing around them.

   Grammar: Usually singular with an or the: he had a thousand-yard stare.

   Patterns

   • have a thousand-yard stare
   • with a thousand-yard stare

   The soldier sat with a thousand-yard stare after the battle.

   After the accident she gave the doctor a thousand-yard stare.

   His thousand-yard stare showed how little he had slept.

2. 2nounsingularfigurativeinformal

   Any distant, blank expression that suggests someone is lost in disturbing memories or utterly worn out.

   Grammar: Singular, and used loosely outside war settings.

   Patterns

   • give someone a thousand-yard stare
   • a thousand-yard stare at something

   The exhausted parents gave each other a thousand-yard stare over their coffee.

   Teachers had a thousand-yard stare by the end of exam week.

   The refugee's thousand-yard stare haunted the photographer.

Common combinations

have a thousand-yard stare

He had a thousand-yard stare when he came home.

give a thousand-yard stare

The survivor gave the camera a thousand-yard stare.

with a thousand-yard stare

She sat with a thousand-yard stare at the window.

haunting thousand-yard stare

The painting shows a haunting thousand-yard stare.

thousand-yard stare of a veteran

The photo captured the thousand-yard stare of a veteran.

Synonyms and how they differ

blank stare

A blank stare shows no understanding or expression, while a thousand-yard stare suggests deep trauma or exhaustion.

vacant look

Vacant look is milder and may just mean not thinking, whereas a thousand-yard stare hints at terrible experience.

glassy-eyed

Glassy-eyed describes shiny, unseeing eyes from tiredness, drink or boredom, without the sense of past trauma.

dazed expression

A dazed expression suggests confusion from a sudden shock, while a thousand-yard stare lasts and feels more haunted.

Opposites

Word family

stare verb

to look fixedly for a long time

stare noun

a long fixed look

stare into space phrase

to look at nothing while thinking or in shock

Commonly confused: thousand-yard stare or blank stare?

Practice

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