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stare
give someone a blank look
and give someone a blank stareto look back at someone with a neutral look on one's face. After I told her to stop smoking, she just gave me a blank look and kept puffing.
look someone in the face
and look someone in the eye; stare someone in the faceFig. to face someone directly. (Facing someone this way is a sign of sincerity.) I don't believe you. Look me in the eye and say that, She looked him in the face and said she never wanted to see him again.
stare at someone or something
to look fixedly at someone or something. Why are you staring at me? I was staring at the scenery behind you.
stare into something
to gaze fixedly into something. she just sat there, staring into space. Tom stared into the water, hoping to see a fish or maybe a turtle.
stare out at someone or something
1. to be in a place staring outward at someone or something. I stayed in my little room and stared out at the others having fun in the crisp fall air. We stared out at the deep snow.
2. [for a face or eyes visible in a place] to be seen staring outward from that place. Two bright little cat eyes stared out at me from the basket. Her faced stared out of the tiny window.
stare someone down
to pressure someone to capitulate, back down, or yield by staring. Don't try to stare me down. I have nerves of steel. I tried to stare down my opponent, but it didn't work.
stare someone in the face
1. Go to look someone in the face.
2. [for evidence] to confront someone directly. (Fig. on stare someone in the face; look someone in the face.) Finally, the truth stared me in the face, and I had to admit to myself what had really happened. When the facts in the case stared the jury in the face, there was nothing they could do but acquit.
stark raving mad
Cliché totally insane; completely crazy; out of control. (Often an exaggeration.) When she heard about what happened at the office, she went stark raving mad. You must be start raving mad if you think I would trust you with my car!
stare you in the face
to be obvious The answer to this problem was staring him in the face, although at first he couldn't see it.
stare something in the face
to deal with something directly We have stared hatred and prejudice in the face and seen what they can do.
look somebody in the face
to look directly at someone without fear or shame I don't know how you can look your sister in the face after what you've done.
be staring somebody in the face
1. if a solution to a problem is staring you in the face, it is very obvious We spent ages wondering how we could make more space in the shop and the answer was staring us in the face all the time.
2. if an unpleasant experience is staring you in the face, it is very likely to happen to you With only one day's supply of water left, death was staring him in the face.
be stark raving mad
(British, American & Australian) also be stark staring mad (British) to be completely crazy She looked at me as though she thought I was stark raving mad.
stare down
Cause someone to waver or give in by or as if by being stared at. For example, Insisting on a better room, he stared down the manager until he got it. This expression alludes to staring at someone without being the first to blink or lower one's gaze. [Mid-1800s]
stare in the face
Also, look in the face. Be glaringly obvious, although initially overlooked, as in The solution to the problem had been staring me in the face all along, or I wouldn't know a Tibetan terrier if it looked me in the face. [Late 1600s]
stark raving mad
Totally crazy, as in The constant uncertainty over his job is making him stark raving mad. This term, meaning "completely wildly insane," is used both hyperbolically and literally. Versions of this expression appear to have sprung from the minds of great literary figures. Stark mad was first recorded by poet John Skelton in 1489; stark raving was first recorded by playwright John Beaumont in 1648; stark staring mad was first used by John Dryden in 1693. The current wording, stark raving mad, first appeared in Henry Fielding's The Intriguing Chambermaid in 1734.
stare down
v. To intimidate someone or cause someone to submit by staring: I was able to stare down the lion, and it turned and ran away. If your enemies try to stare you down, just smile back at them.
stare in the face
1. To be plainly visible or obvious to (one); force itself on (one's) attention: The money on the table was staring her in the face.
2. To be obvious to (one) though initially overlooked: The explanation had been staring him in the face all along.
3. To be imminent or unavoidable to (one): Bankruptcy now stares us in the face.
4. To be about to experience or undergo (something dire): We are staring bankruptcy in the face.