stare in the face

S s

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [stair in stressed th ee feys]
- /stɛər ɪn stressed ði feɪs/
- /steə(r) ɪn ðə feɪs/

Definitions of stare in the face words

verb without object stare in the face to gaze fixedly and intently, especially with the eyes wide open. 1
verb without object stare in the face to be boldly or obtrusively conspicuous: The bright modern painting stares out at you in the otherwise conservative gallery. 1
verb without object stare in the face (of hair, feathers, etc.) to stand on end; bristle. 1
verb with object stare in the face to stare at: to stare a person up and down. 1
verb with object stare in the face to effect or have a certain effect on by staring: to stare one out of countenance. 1
noun stare in the face a staring gaze; a fixed look with the eyes wide open: The banker greeted him with a glassy stare. 1

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English staren, Old English starian; cognate with Dutch staren, German starren, Old Norse stara; akin to stark, starve

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 96% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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