I.verbCOLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
flinty look/stare
▪ Duvall gave him a flinty stare.
frosty stare/look/tone
▪ He gave me a frosty stare.
look/gaze/stare out of the window
▪ Mom stared out of the window at the road.
malevolent look/stare/smile etc
▪ He gave her a dark, malevolent look.
return sb’s gaze/stare
▪ She kept her eyes fixed on the floor, refusing to return his gaze.
stared blindly
▪ ‘I don’t know,’ she repeated as she stared blindly down into her glass.
stared glumly
▪ She stared glumly at her plate.
stare/gaze/look fixedly at sth
▪ Ann stared fixedly at the screen.
unblinking stare/gaze
▪ His father’s unblinking gaze was fixed on the fire.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
ahead
▪ In the back seat a thin face stared ahead.
▪ Now the judge slumped and stared ahead, his eyes open and blank.
▪ She sat down, staring ahead, oblivious to Robert's presence.
▪ Barnabas continued to stare ahead, but one ear flickered.
▪ Sinking into a chair, she stared ahead unseeingly.
▪ I looked at Holmes, who was staring ahead rigid.
▪ He stared ahead through the windscreen, his hands clasped in his lap, and she started to drive again.
▪ I thought if I stared ahead, I might still catch your eye.
back
▪ He hesitated, turning his head, staring back the way he'd come, but the corridor was empty.
▪ He turned and stared back down the muddy track.
▪ He looked out into the lecture hall and saw one hundred and seventy pairs of eyes staring back at him.
▪ The portrait that Karl had insisted on hanging there stared back at her.
▪ Holly no longer looked at him, he stared back at the stunted ruin that had been the office of the Commandant.
▪ He was holding his stomach, and staring back at us.
blankly
▪ When they had gone, Washington stared blankly into his future.
▪ I stared blankly, his meaning lost.
▪ After he had gone, she stared blankly at the stack of boxes he had left.
▪ It was a face that was interesting rather than classically handsome, she thought, staring blankly at him.
▪ Soon, Nohemi stopped and stared blankly at the wall for several minutes.
▪ She stared blankly at the wall above the phone table.
▪ Say your two-year-old is staring blankly into space and absently running his fingers along a toy car.
blindly
▪ Sinking down into the seat, she stared blindly through the windscreen, her thoughts on her distant family.
▪ Mr Rolleman was lying almost at her feet, his eyes staring blindly upward from a face of ghastly purple.
▪ After a while she gave up, and left him sitting there, staring blindly into an unimaginable future.
▪ Unexpected, it was like a surprise confrontation, and for a moment she could only stare blindly at the familiar name.
▪ Throughout the passage, Ahab stands on the deck as if transfixed, staring blindly ahead into the wind and sleet.
▪ She sensed the long look he directed at her, but continued to stare blindly ahead.
▪ His eyes were wide open, staring blindly at the ceiling - his face was a mottled blue.
down
▪ We then removed the funeral cloths, lifted the gauze veils and stared down at the royal corpse.
▪ Lucky, too, stared down into the open-ing.
▪ Joe stared down at the large, rough hand gently rubbing against him.
▪ He would lock himself in his room and stare down at the pretty church yard across the street.
▪ Jane crossed to the windows and stood staring down into the street.
▪ All of them were staring down at us and scanning Hsu Fu intently.
▪ A great beautiful face stared down at me.
fixedly
▪ Isabel stared fixedly ahead of her, wondering if she had heard aright.
▪ Rachel stared fixedly at his tanned throat where the white shirt was unbuttoned.
▪ Lorton was staring fixedly at him.
▪ Alarmed by that thought, she stared fixedly if unseeingly in front of her.
▪ The two men were now staring fixedly at each other.
▪ Finally, he could do nothing but stare fixedly into those ancient eyes.
▪ As he talked, he was staring fixedly at her.
▪ She jerked her head round quickly towards where the Men usually came from and stared fixedly.
hard
▪ They were both staring hard at me.
▪ I felt something akin to the tender hatred one can sense when staring hard at a photograph of oneself.
▪ He stared hard at pictures held out to him, trying to decipher their language.
▪ Red is staring hard at Jody.
▪ She stared hard at the black curly hairs on the neck of the man she'd married nine years before.
▪ As he put on his coat, he stared hard at Nancy, frowning a little.
out
▪ She stared out through the thick, salt-streaked glass as roads and fields and houses moved slowly by.
▪ The men stare out through dark eyes seemingly without pupils.
▪ Miguel had been sitting on the balcony staring out across the valley.
▪ His sister was staring out of her window at him, having dragged herself away from the mirror.
▪ Grace stared out, over the waves, past the rocks and islands.
▪ For a moment, we both sat and stared out at the ocean.
▪ Ellie stared out, and saw no future there.
▪ They both stared out toward the road.
still
▪ Light from the ceiling moved uncertainly over the carved wood Quiss was still staring at.
▪ Still staring, he bit into the bread.
▪ Christina found she was still staring as if mesmerized at Stein's confident smile.
▪ Out of the corner of my eye I could see the father at the next table, still staring at me.
▪ That bloke with the stick was still staring.
▪ But instead he sat motionless, fists still clenched, still staring.
▪ He was still staring into my eyes.
▪ But still stared at him, wild eyed.
straight
▪ She was sitting beside him now, staring straight out towards the sea.
▪ He grunted a little and then stared straight ahead.
▪ Turning her head, she stared straight into Leo's eyes.
▪ She clamps her jaw shut and stares straight ahead.
▪ In the latter painting we stare straight into the ventricles of a human heart, the veins spreading out like branches.
▪ The figure stared straight ahead, hands fingering a book in its lap.
▪ The occupants of the car in front were staring straight ahead, not talking to each other, very tense.
▪ Squeezing his trembling lips shut, he stared straight ahead.
up
▪ Zlorf and Ymor stared up at the figure on the threshold.
▪ He wandered off then came back to lie on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
▪ That night I lay flat on my back in the Sheraton mahogany bed, staring up at the ecru lace canopy.
▪ He just stared up at the sultry flats.
▪ He stared up at his third floor.
▪ He watched them for a minute as they stood in the ring of orange lamplight, staring up at Fir Grove.
■ NOUN
amazement
▪ Willie stared in amazement at the fields, his thin woollen socks heaped around his ankles.
▪ Other excitements took their place but I was more inclined to stare at them in amazement than paint them.
▪ Withel stared at him in amazement for a moment, and then quietly toppled into the mud.
▪ He stared at her in amazement.
▪ Suddenly I stopped and stood still, staring in amazement.
▪ Two fishermen stopped work to stand and stare in amazement.
▪ Father Poole stared at him in amazement.
bed
▪ They drew near the bed and stared down at the boy who lay there sleeping in its drifts of tumbling lace.
▪ That night I lay flat on my back in the Sheraton mahogany bed, staring up at the ecru lace canopy.
▪ Walking back into her room, she sat down on the bed and stared unseeingly at the wall.
▪ She flopped down on an unmade king-sized bed, staring at me as she took up a cigarette and lit it.
▪ He threw himself down on the huge old bed and stared at the sloping timber ceiling.
▪ He wandered off then came back to lie on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
▪ She nodded and sat on the bed a moment, staring at him.
ceiling
▪ Her greenish eyes were wide open, staring sightless at the ceiling.
▪ Then you usually lie there just staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything that could go wrong.
▪ He was staring at the ceiling.
▪ Sara stared at her bedroom ceiling.
▪ Fulke slouched, staring up at the ceiling.
▪ He wandered off then came back to lie on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
▪ Evelyn lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
▪ She lay on her back staring up at the ceiling and her thoughts immediately flashed back to Luke and last night.
darkness
▪ He stared into the green darkness behind them.
▪ Her face staring, staring into the darkness, trying to gaze herself into another world.
▪ A little later she lay in bed beside her snoring husband, staring into the darkness.
▪ Thus, using infra-red, he would be able to stare through smoke or darkness.
▪ I stared through the bleak darkness.
▪ Alec turned on his back and stared into the darkness.
▪ She spent the next couple of hours staring into the darkness.
▪ She stared into the darkness until eventually her eyes adjusted and she could see every object in the unfamiliar room.
disbelief
▪ Charlie leaned forward and stared down in disbelief at a painting of the Virgin Mary and Child.
▪ Dooley stepped back and cursed with such vehemence that the rector stared in disbelief.
▪ She stared after him in disbelief, filled with disappointment and a growing anger.
▪ Then he turned around and stared in disbelief.
▪ He raised the lid of the first compartment and stared down in disbelief.
▪ I stared at in disbelief before reading on.
▪ Sometimes she stared at them in disbelief and they turned away from the clarity of her open blue-grey gaze.
▪ The businessman was staring in angry disbelief at the glittering computer graphic that hung on the screen before him.
face
▪ From the right-hand page Vron's face stared me in the eye.
▪ The grotesque face stared at her.
▪ He looked at his own face staring back, with Billie's face next to it.
▪ In the back seat a thin face stared ahead.
▪ The ugly, freckle-blotched face stared at him from under the garish thatch of red hair.
floor
▪ He was staring at the floor, keeping very still as if he was trying to be part of the wall.
▪ He shook his head, staring down at the floor.
▪ Malamute stared earnestly at the floor, nodding vigorously at certain points in her narrative.
▪ Eddie is in the corner, stone-faced, staring at the floor.
▪ She just stares at the floor and rocks.
▪ She sits there, staring at the floor, motionless except for that one finger inscribing a circle around the can.
▪ Kim bit his lip and stared at the floor as his father rose to look meaningfully in their direction.
▪ Benjy stared down at the floor.
hand
▪ Cara held it in her hands, staring at it, unbelieving.
▪ She opened it with a trembling hand and sat staring at it for a long time.
▪ Helen was holding on to the stall gate with both hands and staring at him.
▪ He sat, a wine cup clenched firmly in his hands, as he stared through a window into the gathering darkness.
▪ Holding his bundle of papers with both hands, he stared at Langford accusingly, lower lip pushed out.
▪ Gladys Brown clenched her hands and stared down at the bony knuckles.
▪ He tore some primroses off their stems, and stood with them in his hands, intently staring at them.
head
▪ Open-mouthed, Leith turned her head to stare at him.
▪ He shook his head, staring down at the floor.
▪ She shook her head and stared into the fire and then at the television screen.
▪ I lifted my gaze over their heads and stared at the brass bar above the window.
▪ She sat with her hand at the side of her head as she stared out of the window.
▪ Legs crossed, head bowed and sullenly staring out of the window, Diana was mingling with tourists, businessmen and oil-rig workers.
▪ He lay with his arms under his head and stared at the ceiling as the Monsignor grunted and groaned.
horror
▪ I stare in horror at its bloody mouth, that vertical stitch of red wool now dribbling crimson.
▪ Bertha enters and stares in horror.
▪ Agnes looked up at Vlad, who was staring in horror.
▪ He turned to cover it, then stopped and stared in horror.
▪ She stared in horror at the whitened, frozen cadavers which lay there under a tattered, canvas sheet.
▪ She stared at it in horror.
▪ Unable to move, I stared in horror at the shape behind the glass, and screamed.
moment
▪ For a moment she stared at a different Luke.
▪ Most of the time he knew the answers, but hated the silence in that terrible moment of everyone staring at him.
▪ For a moment, all three stared.
▪ Spider stood holding him like that for a moment, just staring.
▪ For a few moments she stared at the tawny eagle and then at Mr Wolski, and he looked at her.
▪ For a moment he just stared at me, looking rather perplexed.
▪ He put a sheet of hotel stationary into the roller and sat there for a moment, staring at it.
room
▪ At halftime, Oregon up by six, Jess stands alone in the back of the locker room staring her wide-eyed stare.
▪ I had dressed after my shower and was sitting on the steps of the shower room staring dully through the wire.
▪ They felt the others in the room staring at them and turned simultaneously.
▪ Time in the waiting room, staring at the wounded apples and their open flesh.
▪ She sits on the couch in the locker room staring straight ahead as the others trade jokes.
space
▪ Rachel screamed and woke up, drenched with sweat, shaking, staring into space.
▪ Mrs James caught me staring into space twice even though the girl sitting next to me had nudged me in time.
▪ Instead of tracing the pages with his finger as he usually did, he was staring vacantly into space.
▪ When he left, she stared at the empty space on the wall where his rosary beads had been.
▪ In his study, Bernard Quex stared into space, pen motionless over his notepad.
▪ Robyn sat staring into space, her mind numb with shock and disbelief, total agonising disbelief.
▪ Sometimes she sits in a lounge chair on the back porch and stares off into space.
wall
▪ Days spent staring at the wall.
▪ She was just sitting there in the dark, staring at the wall.
▪ You're not in prison - you don't have to stare at the walls.
▪ After Lynne left his office Manion sat and stared at his wall calendar.
▪ She stared blankly at the wall above the phone table.
▪ Soon, Nohemi stopped and stared blankly at the wall for several minutes.
▪ Thérèse and Léonie stared at the steep wall of rock, at the grass and weeds at its foot.
▪ He stared at the bedroom wall.
window
▪ Another woman stood on one leg by the window and stared at her.
▪ In between times he looked out the window or stared at me, smiling when our eyes met.
▪ I got up and wandered to the window and stood staring out.
▪ I pulled up opposite, wound down the window and stared.
▪ Sighing, he rose from his desk and walked to the windows to stare out at the Vatican through the rain.
■ VERB
continue
▪ Fascinated by this new vision of himself, he continued to stare.
▪ The sun is setting now as John continues, o en staring at the skyscrapers, slouched in his chair.
▪ He continued to stare at her, his fleshy face filmed with perspiration, neck bulging above his tight collar.
▪ Eliza continued to stare at Bigelow.
▪ Romanov waved his hand as he continued to stare at the pre-war, faded photograph of the two men.
▪ Barnabas continued to stare ahead, but one ear flickered.
▪ She continued to stare back at him.
sit
▪ She sat down, staring ahead, oblivious to Robert's presence.
▪ I sat through lunch hour staring at a poster of a crab louse magnified to monstrous proportions.
▪ Boy would sometimes sit staring at this view with a guide to the city open on his lap.
▪ We sat, staring up at it, awed almost to sobriety.
▪ I should have sat up, eyes staring and sweat pouring off my forehead like in some old Hammer Brothers movie.
▪ The woman just sat there staring as the packages were opened.
▪ Crossing to the dressing-table, she sat down, staring at her reflection glumly.
▪ I sat and stared too for a while.
stand
▪ They stood staring at each other, neither of them really knowing what to say or do next.
▪ He started up and stood staring around him.
▪ They all stood around staring at her and smiling awkwardly, as if she was embarrassing.
▪ She stood there staring, poised like a disturbed marsh bird for instant flight.
▪ She stood, staring out at the pond and the dark Grove rising up the mountain behind it.
▪ He was standing there, staring at the van.
▪ He wedged the picture inside the locker door and stood staring at it.
stop
▪ Philosophers need to stop procrastinating and staring at their navels and answer questions like the one above with a definite answer.
▪ Then another car, this time stopping so occupants could stare at the U. S. Air Force barracks.
▪ Michael Lever stopped and stared up at it.
▪ I forced myself to stop staring at his chest and looked instead around the room.
▪ I stopped walking and stared wide-eyed as the rest of the senescent strollers proceeded out of this dimension.
▪ When we used to stroll in the streets, men would stop to stare not on my account, but on hers.
▪ The priest found his eyes drawn towards it and made a conscious effort to stop staring at it.
▪ Soon, Nohemi stopped and stared blankly at the wall for several minutes.
turn
▪ I turn to stare at it, and the driver stares at me.
▪ Then he turned around and stared in disbelief.
▪ He hesitated, turning his head, staring back the way he'd come, but the corridor was empty.
▪ Logically enough, everybody turned to stare at Lolly Stoppelgard, who looked understandably puzzled.
▪ Open-mouthed, Leith turned her head to stare at him.
▪ Kenny turned and stared at me, silent.
▪ The speaker broke off, turning to stare at her as she stood in the doorway.
▪ She had kept her neck painfully turned and strained to stare out the window at the street scenes.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
look/stare/gaze into space
▪ He was just gazing into space.
▪ In his study, Bernard Quex stared into space, pen motionless over his notepad.
▪ Mrs Frizzell gazed into space and Mrs Murphy smoothed back errant curls from her damp forehead.
▪ Mrs James caught me staring into space twice even though the girl sitting next to me had nudged me in time.
▪ My companion remained oblivious to the sights, staring into space and frowning.
▪ Rachel screamed and woke up, drenched with sweat, shaking, staring into space.
▪ Sometimes the door was ajar and I would see her sitting absolutely still, staring into space, not reading at all.
▪ Usually, after a performance I come home and stare into space.
vacant expression/look/stare etc
▪ Brittany, the blond cheerleader, has a vacant stare and huge eyelashes.
▪ But an oddly vacant look had come over Cinzia's features.
▪ Eyes downcast; baby lips pulled into a frown; dull, vacant stare.
▪ He was a bright-eyed boy, thin and fair, with a vacant expression that often gave way to shrill laughter.
▪ He was looking round with a vacant look on his face and I was frightened.
▪ However, just behind the vacant expression he offered me, I detected fear.
▪ The maid's vacant expression was replaced momentarily by one of greedy expectation - shortly followed by disappointment.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Donna stared in horror as the man fell to the floor.
▪ Everyone turned to look at him, and he stared stonily back.
▪ Fenton stood tall and stared down the gunmen.
▪ It's not polite to stare, you know.
▪ Ron kept silent and stared down at his food.
▪ She stared at the page for several minutes, trying to understand.
▪ When he's depressed, he just sits there, staring off into space.
▪ Why are you staring at me like that?
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Clayt drew up his shoulders and stared into the middle distance, as though he were finished.
▪ Dragan stared and felt his head burning.
▪ He leaned against the rood screen and stared up at his newly repaired roof.
▪ He was silent around her; he sat reading Bible commentaries and writing his sermons and staring into the fire.
▪ She was staring in pain at the sick horse.
▪ Some children scattered, turning to stare.
▪ Then you usually lie there just staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything that could go wrong.
II.nounCOLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
blank
▪ Poindexter gave him a blank stare.
▪ But ask them when fund shareholders should sell their funds, and you get a blank stare.
▪ Julie found herself drawn almost hypnotically to the blank stares.
▪ As his eyes adjusted to the dimness he began to feel dominated by the blank stares of the plaster martyrs.
▪ All he got in return was a blank stare and a cloud of fresh cigar smoke.
cold
▪ Ruth saw a green trail of cloaks, light striking from silver helmets, and a cold transfixing stare.
▪ The women raked us with their cold stares as Clarisa rose, picked Janir up and carried him off.
▪ But I gave her a cold stare and fluffed my fur out.
▪ He turned a brief cold stare on her.
▪ Women policed each other, stopping rebellious acts with cold and disapproving stares.
fixed
▪ Three who were hospitalised could not speak intelligibly, had a fixed stare, and were constantly drooling.
▪ On the other hand do not overcompensate and regard the interviewer with a fixed stare.
▪ The dominant cat always keeps a fixed stare directed towards its rival.
hard
▪ Infuriated, he looked at me with a hard, steady stare.
▪ The woman gave Patrice a long hard silent stare.
▪ She circled Tallis twice, staring down at her, not touching, not acknowledging her beyond the hard, contemptuous stare.
▪ People looked at her nervously - women with unconcealed envy, men with a hard appraising stare.
▪ He gave us a hard stare as he passed, very slowly.
long
▪ She wanted Phoebe's long bold stare, so different from Rachel's serene regard-more dangerous, more challenging.
▪ The woman gave Patrice a long hard silent stare.
▪ Their eyes met in a long, arching stare.
▪ As for Miguel, he would treat her to a long stare with those soulful eyes and mutter something she did not understand.
unblinking
▪ There was something not quite right about his unblinking stare.
vacant
▪ Eyes downcast; baby lips pulled into a frown; dull, vacant stare.
▪ Brittany, the blond cheerleader, has a vacant stare and huge eyelashes.
■ NOUN
decisis
▪ First, as we have said, is the doctrine of stare decisis.
▪ Instead, the opinion... contains an elaborate discussion of stare decisis.
■ VERB
fix
▪ Jack fixed his stare on hers.
▪ He fixed his stare on a shelduck whose white and brown plumage he could easily see.
give
▪ But I gave her a cold stare and fluffed my fur out.
▪ Poindexter gave him a blank stare.
▪ Grabbed her handbag back, gave me the gargoyle stare, went inside.
▪ The tired horse stopped dead in its tracks and turned its head around to give him a baleful stare.
▪ Charlie didn't reply, just gave his daughter a stare - which was enough.
▪ He gave us a hard stare as he passed, very slowly.
meet
▪ Her friendly enquiry as to the whereabouts of the Red House was met by a hostile stare from the woman behind the counter.
▪ Is your presence regularly met by muted stares?
▪ But Theda stayed where she was by the door, meeting Araminta's malevolent stare with a fast-beating heart.
▪ Her friendly gestures were met with stony stares.
▪ Normally this was met with a stony stare.
▪ As the mayor turned back, he met Agnes's stare.
▪ Questions about his infatuation with the bar owner's wife were met by a stony stare.
return
▪ The cat watched her from the kitchen doorway and she returned its stare.
▪ She was returning his stare without flinching.
▪ Not only that, but he was returning her stare measure for measure.
▪ He returned her stare and smiled, thinking to himself that she was probably very attractive underneath all the hair and make-up.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
fix sb with a stare/glare/look etc
look/stare/gaze into space
▪ He was just gazing into space.
▪ In his study, Bernard Quex stared into space, pen motionless over his notepad.
▪ Mrs Frizzell gazed into space and Mrs Murphy smoothed back errant curls from her damp forehead.
▪ Mrs James caught me staring into space twice even though the girl sitting next to me had nudged me in time.
▪ My companion remained oblivious to the sights, staring into space and frowning.
▪ Rachel screamed and woke up, drenched with sweat, shaking, staring into space.
▪ Sometimes the door was ajar and I would see her sitting absolutely still, staring into space, not reading at all.
▪ Usually, after a performance I come home and stare into space.
vacant expression/look/stare etc
▪ Brittany, the blond cheerleader, has a vacant stare and huge eyelashes.
▪ But an oddly vacant look had come over Cinzia's features.
▪ Eyes downcast; baby lips pulled into a frown; dull, vacant stare.
▪ He was a bright-eyed boy, thin and fair, with a vacant expression that often gave way to shrill laughter.
▪ He was looking round with a vacant look on his face and I was frightened.
▪ However, just behind the vacant expression he offered me, I detected fear.
▪ The maid's vacant expression was replaced momentarily by one of greedy expectation - shortly followed by disappointment.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Charles didn't reply. He just gave his daughter an icy stare.
▪ The suspect was described as having a blank stare after the shooting spree.
▪ Their argument attracted the stares of passing shoppers.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Ruth saw a green trail of cloaks, light striking from silver helmets, and a cold transfixing stare.
▪ The person sitting on the low wall did not move, even when Pol cast a meaningful stare in its direction.
▪ The women raked us with their cold stares as Clarisa rose, picked Janir up and carried him off.
▪ Up and down with giggles and stares.
▪ With this stare, I thee covet.