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Other Words for "Look" + With meanings | List for writers
Many people create lists of synonyms for the word 'said,' but what about the word 'look'? Here are some synonyms that I enjoy using in my writing, along with their meanings for your reference. While all these words relate to 'look,' they each carry distinct meanings and nuances, so I thought it would be helpful to provide meanings for each one.
Gaze - To look steadily and intently, especially in admiration or thought.
Glance - A brief or hurried look.
Peek - A quick and typically secretive look.
Peer - To look with difficulty or concentration.
Scan - To look over quickly but thoroughly.
Observe - To watch carefully and attentively.
Inspect - To look at closely in order to assess condition or quality.
Stare - To look fixedly or vacantly at someone or something.
Glimpse - To see or perceive briefly or partially.
Eye - To look or stare at intently.
Peruse - To read or examine something with great care.
Scrutinize - To examine or inspect closely and thoroughly.
Behold - To see or observe a thing or person, especially a remarkable one.
Witness - To see something happen, typically a significant event.
Spot - To see, notice, or recognize someone or something.
Contemplate - To look thoughtfully for a long time at.
Sight - To suddenly or unexpectedly see something or someone.
Ogle - To stare at in a lecherous manner.
Leer - To look or gaze in an unpleasant, malicious way.
Gawk - To stare openly and stupidly.
Gape - To stare with one's mouth open wide, in amazement.
Squint - To look with eyes partially closed.
Regard - To consider or think of in a specified way.
Admire - To regard with pleasure, wonder, and approval.
Skim - To look through quickly to gain superficial knowledge.
Reconnoiter - To make a military observation of a region.
Flick - To look or move the eyes quickly.
Rake - To look through something rapidly and unsystematically.
Glare - To look angrily or fiercely.
Peep - To look quickly and secretly through an opening.
Focus - To concentrate one's visual effort on.
Discover - To find or realize something not clear before.
Spot-check - To examine something briefly or at random.
Devour - To look over with eager enthusiasm.
Examine - To inspect in detail to determine condition.
Feast one's eyes - To look at something with great enjoyment.
Catch sight of - To suddenly or unexpectedly see.
Clap eyes on - To suddenly see someone or something.
Set eyes on - To look at, especially for the first time.
Take a dekko - Colloquial for taking a look.
Leer at - To look or gaze in a suggestive manner.
Rubberneck - To stare at something in a foolish way.
Make out - To manage to see or read with difficulty.
Lay eyes on - To see or look at.
Pore over - To look at or read something intently.
Ogle at - To look at in a lecherous or predatory way.
Pry - To look or inquire into something in a determined manner.
Dart - To look quickly or furtively.
Drink in - To look at with great enjoyment or fascination.
Bask in - To look at or enjoy something for a period of time.
Love Confessions 💕
“I couldn’t live with myself, if I didn’t tell you.”
“I never dared to even dream about you feeling the same.”
“Do I really have to spell it out for you? I love you! Are you happy now?”
“I don’t want to sound cheesy, but I need you to know how I feel.”
“Maybe I do like you – a lot.”
“This is just too much, I can’t act like this anymore, like I don’t love you!”
“I know this is not how we do things, but we can’t ignore our feelings any longer!”
“Well, you still love me, right?” “I do.”
"I really, really like your stupid face."
“You never believe me! If I told you right now that I love you, would you even believe me?”
“I want to wake up next to you. Every morning.”
“It’s like you never really see me. I’m standing right in front of you and you don’t see me!”
“You have to come back to me. Because I cannot do this without you.”
“I love you, okay? I love you!”
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“How you made me fall in love with you is still beyond me.”
“I didn’t want to tell you like this, but I have no choice.”
“Don’t you see that there are people who care about you? That I care about?”
“I am only going to say this once, so you better listen – I love you.”
“I can’t lose you again! Please, don’t make me lose you again.”
“This was not how I wanted you to find out, but I also don’t want to take it back.”
“We need to stop dancing around it. All it does, is hurting us both!”
“I cannot stop smiling when I look at you.”
"My heart aches to be with you."
“I can’t stop thinking about you. When I wake up, when I’m about to fall asleep…”
“You will never lose me. I will always be right here beside you.”
“I want you to be happy. And I would love it to be with me.”
"I think I like you a lot more than I like anyone."
"There is something missing, when you're not here with me."
"It's hard for me to describe what I feel for you... but just know that it's love nonetheless."
If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee! And check out my Instagram! 🥰
How to create an atmosphere: Forest
Sight
tall trees with thick canopies of leaves
alternating light coming in through the moving leafs of the trees
ground covered with a mix of grass, ferns, and fallen leaves
wildflowers adding splashes of colour
animals like deer, boars, squirrels, birds
insects like butterflies and bees add movement and life to the scene
Hearing
the air is filled with the melodious songs of birds
gentle rustling of leaves as the wind moves through the trees
constant hum and buzz of insects
the soft crunch of leaves, twigs, and soil while walking through the forest
Touch
the spongy feel and the soft coolness of moss
the rough texture of tree bark
the cooler temperature in the forest
with a gentle breeze that can be felt on your skin
Smell
the smell of fresh grass
the rich, earthy smell of soil and decaying leaves
the scent of fresh leaves, pine needles, and blooming flowers
the smell of the clean, slightly damp scent of water and wet earth from a nearby stream or pond
Taste
the clean taste of fresh air
the taste of sweet and tangy wildberries
the taste of self-picked mushrooms
the taste of edible wildflowers
the taste of a variety of nuts
the taste of wild greens
More: How to create an atmosphere
List of describing exercises to help you improve your descriptions.
As I try to improve my technical writing skills, I've noticed my describing skills are pretty lacking. So, here is a list of description exercises.
Setting Description
Pick a setting and describe it in a way that evokes a positive emotion, then describe the same setting negatively.
Pick a setting and try to describe it by using all of your senses.
Find a setting you've written before and write 500 words of pure description on it.
Describe a tree from the point of view of a character that's feeling a strong emotion, whether they're depressed, frustrated, or excited.
Character Description
Pick one of your characters and write a 500 word description of them.
Write a 500 word description on how your character feels about different people.
Pick 3 different characters and write 200 word descriptions for each of their voices.
Write a 500 word description about how your character looks at different people.
show, don't tell:
anticipation - bouncing legs - darting eyes - breathing deeply - useless / mindless tasks - eyes on the clock - checking and re-checking
frustration - grumbling - heavy footsteps - hot flush - narrowed eyes - pointing fingers - pacing / stomping
sadness - eyes filling up with tears - blinking quickly - hiccuped breaths - face turned away - red / burning cheeks - short sentences with gulps
happiness - smiling / cheeks hurting - animated - chest hurts from laughing - rapid movements - eye contact - quick speaking
boredom - complaining - sighing - grumbling - pacing - leg bouncing - picking at nails
fear - quick heartbeat - shaking / clammy hands - pinching self - tuck away - closing eyes - clenched hands
disappointment - no eye contact - hard swallow - clenched hands - tears, occasionally - mhm-hmm
tiredness - spacing out - eyes closing - nodding head absently - long sighs - no eye contact - grim smile
confidence - prolonged eye contact - appreciates instead of apologizing - active listening - shoulders back - micro reactions
Vocabulary
Words to Describe Sound
✷
↠ bang
↠ bark
↠ beep
↠ bellow
↠ blare
↠ blast
↠ bong
↠ boom
↠ buzz
↠ cackle
↠ cheep
↠ chime
↠ chirp
↠ clack
↠ clang
↠ clank
↠ clap
↠ clatter
↠ click
↠ clink
↠ cluck
↠ clunk
↠ crack
↠ crackle
↠ crash
↠ creak
↠ crinkle
↠ drip
↠ drum
↠ fizz
↠ gnash
↠ gobble
↠ grate
↠ grind
↠ groan
↠ growl
↠ grumble
↠ grunt
↠ gurgle
↠ hiss
↠ hoot
↠ howl
↠ hum
↠ jangle
↠ jingle
↠ knock
↠ moan
↠ neigh
↠ patter
↠ peep
↠ ping
↠ pop
↠ pound
↠ pow
↠ pulse
↠ purr
↠ rap
↠ rattle
↠ ring
↠ ripple
↠ roar
↠ rumble
↠ rustle
↠ scream
↠ screech
↠ scrunch
↠ shriek
↠ sizzle
↠ slam
↠ snap
↠ snarl
↠ snort
↠ splash
↠ sputter
↠ squak
↠ squeal
↠ squeek
↠ squish
↠ stamp
↠ swish
↠ swoosh
↠ tap
↠ tear
↠ throb
↠ thud
↠ thump
↠ thunder
↠ tick
↠ tinkle
↠ toot
↠ trill
↠ twang
↠ wail
↠ wheeze
↠ whine
↠ whisper
↠ yap
↠ yelp
↠ zap
Writing Tips
Punctuating Dialogue
✧
➸ “This is a sentence.”
➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.
➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”
➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”
➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”
➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”
➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.
“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.
“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”
➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”
➸ “Hey!” she shouted. “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”
However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!
➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.
If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)
➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“
“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.
➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.
➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”
➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.
“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”
➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.
“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”
As per request (thanks, singingrabbitskull!), I did a half-tutorial, half-sporadic notes on how I generally render basic expressions.
There’s already a lot of cool tutorials that exist on how to do expressions, so I tried to just look at a lot of really minor details that I’ve used but haven’t seen commonly passed down.
required disclaimer: this is just how I go about it, feel free to ignore bits, steal bits, do whatever you want with them. Hope this helps, and if you have any questions scream at my inbox!
