Meaning & use
wide-eyed look
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Meanings
nouncountable
An expression in which the eyes are opened very wide, usually showing surprise, wonder, or fear.
Grammar: Countable and usually used with an or the: she gave me a wide-eyed look.
Patterns
- a wide-eyed look of something
- give someone a wide-eyed look
- with a wide-eyed look
The children stared at the magician with a wide-eyed look of wonder.
She gave me a wide-eyed look when I told her the price of the tickets.
He answered the question with a wide-eyed look, as if he could not believe it.
nounsingulardisapproving
A way of seeming innocent, trusting, or easily impressed, especially when this is not genuine.
Grammar: Often used in a slightly critical way after words like naive or innocent: that wide-eyed look of hers.
Patterns
- a wide-eyed look of innocence
- that wide-eyed look
His wide-eyed look of innocence did not convince the teacher for a moment.
She still had the wide-eyed look of a newcomer, though she had worked there for years.
Word forms
| plural | wide-eyed looks |
|---|
Common combinations
- a wide-eyed look of surprise
- He turned to us with a wide-eyed look of surprise.
- give someone a wide-eyed look
- She gave her brother a wide-eyed look and shook her head.
- a wide-eyed look of wonder
- The baby watched the lights with a wide-eyed look of wonder.
- a wide-eyed look of innocence
- He answered with a wide-eyed look of innocence that fooled nobody.
- a wide-eyed stare
- The sudden noise was met with a wide-eyed stare from everyone at the table.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stare
- A stare is a long, fixed look and says nothing about how wide the eyes are; use wide-eyed look when the shape of the eyes is the point.
- gaze
- A gaze is steady and often admiring or thoughtful, while a wide-eyed look usually signals surprise or fear.
- astonished expression
- This names the emotion rather than the eyes; a wide-eyed look can also show fear or wonder, not only astonishment.
Opposites
Word family
- wide-eyed adjective
- Having the eyes opened wide, often from surprise: a wide-eyed child.
- wide-eyedness noun
- Rare noun for the quality of being wide-eyed or easily amazed.
- look noun
- The general word for an act of looking or an expression on the face.
Commonly confused: wide-eyed look or wide-eyed? wide-eyed look or far-eyed?
wide-eyed look vs wide-eyed
The adjective describes the person or face (a wide-eyed girl); the noun phrase wide-eyed look names the expression itself.
wide-eyed look vs far-eyed
Not a real English word; learners sometimes mix up wide and far. Use far-sighted for eyesight that sees distant things clearly.
Practice
The little boy watched the fireworks with a wide-eyed look of ______.
Choose one answer.
After "a look of" we need a noun, and "wonder" is the uncountable noun that names the feeling. "Wonderful" is an adjective and cannot follow "of" here, and "wonders" would suggest several separate things rather than one feeling.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wide-eyed look”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.