gawked

verbstare at in amazement

Synonyms for gawked

verb stare at in amazement

Word Origin & History

1785, American English, perhaps from gaw, a survival from Middle English gowen "to stare" (c.1200), from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse ga "to heed," from Proto-Germanic *gawon-, from PIE *ghow-e- "to honor, revere, worship" (see favor (n.)); and altered perhaps by gawk hand (see gawky). Liberman writes that it "need not have been derived from gowk. It is possibly another independent imitative formation with the structure g-k. Related: Gawked; gawking.

Example Sentences for gawked

Well, isn't there some place we can go where we won't be gawked at by all these hoodlums?

He just gawked at him from the deck, noting that the man had one hand on a sheath knife.

I stood there with my chin two inches from the rug and gawked at him.

In any case she must often have been stung by the exasperation of those at whom she gawked.

He gawked, reddening; his right hand quivered; and to my chagrin he slowly laughed, scanning me.

As he came down the street he stopped occasionally and gawked around.