- eye
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 part of the bodyADJECTIVE▪ left, right▪ amber, blue, brown, dark, golden, green, grey/gray, hazel, pale, etc.▪ big, enormous, huge, large, wide▪
She just looked at me with those big blue eyes of hers.
▪His eyes were wide with horror.
▪ narrow▪ close-set, wide-set▪ deep, deep-set, heavy-lidded, hollow, hooded, sunken▪ beady, piggy▪ baggy, puffy, swollen▪ bleary, bloodshot, exhausted, red, red-rimmed, sleepy, tired, weary▪Her bleary eyes showed that she hadn't slept.
▪ bright, brilliant, glowing, luminous, lustrous, sparkling, starry, twinkling▪ clear, limpid, liquid▪ soft, warm▪ cloudy, misty, moist, rheumy, tear-filled, tearful, teary (esp. AmE), watery▪ dry▪ sightless, unseeing▪ half-closed, narrowed▪ unblinking▪ dazed, unfocused▪ mad, staring, wild▪ angry, cruel, fierce▪ anxious▪ greedy, hungry▪The dog's hungry eyes were on my sandwich.
▪ curious, prying▪He drew the curtains to make sure no prying eyes saw what he was doing.
▪ intelligent, keen, sharp, shrewd▪ penetrating, piercing▪ intense▪ cold, dull, expressionless, glassy, glazed, lifeless, steely, vacant▪ downcast, sad, solemn, soulfulVERB + EYE▪ open▪ close, shut▪ lift, raise▪ lower▪ avert▪She averted her eyes from his face.
▪ cast, turn▪I cast my eyes around the room but couldn't see any familiar faces.
▪He turned his eyes to the door when he heard the handle turning.
▪ roll▪She rolled her eyes in disgust.
▪ blink▪ narrow, screw up, squeeze shut▪He screwed up his eyes against the glare of the sun.
▪Tina squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip.
▪ widen▪ focus▪ strain▪I didn't want to strain my eyes to read, so I turned on the light.
▪ protect▪Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.
▪ shade, shield▪He held up the newspaper to shield his eyes from the sun.
▪ cover▪ test▪ gouge▪She reached up and tried to gouge her attacker's eyes.
▪ rub, wipe▪ catch▪A movement in the reeds caught my eye (= attracted my attention).
▪ look sb in, meet▪She looked her father straight in the eye and answered his question truthfully.
▪He seemed unwilling to meet my eyes.
EYE + VERB▪ dilate, fly open, grow wide, open, round, shoot open, snap open, widen▪Her eyes dilated with horror at what she had done.
▪Her eyes flew open in surprise.
▪His eyes rounded in mock amazement.
▪ close, shut▪ flutter open, flutter shut▪ stream, water▪My eyes stream when I chop onions.
▪ hold sth▪His eyes held a mischievous gleam.
▪ be alight with sth, blaze, brighten, flare, flash, gleam, glint, glisten, glitter, glow, light up, shine, smoulder/smolder, spark, sparkle, twinkle▪She laughed, her eyes alight with excitement.
▪His eyes blazed with menace.
▪ mirror sth, reflect sth▪His eyes reflected his anguish.
▪ blur, brim with tears, cloud, fill with tears, mist, well, well up▪ darken, dim, dull, glaze, glaze over▪Her eyes glazed over when I said I worked in dictionaries.
▪ harden, soften▪His eyes hardened as he remembered how they had laughed at him.
▪ narrow, sharpen▪ burn, hurt, prick, prickle, smart, sting▪Her eyes prickled with unshed tears.
▪ be drawn to sb/sth, follow sb/sth, turn to sb/sth▪His eyes were drawn to a bundle of papers in the corner.
▪My eyes followed his every move.
▪ fall on sb/sth, land on sb/sth, settle on sb/sth▪ catch sth▪Her eye caught mine.
▪ gaze at sb/sth, stare at sb/sth, watch sb/sth▪ fasten on sb/sth, fix on sb/sth, focus on sb/sth, lock on sb/sth▪She tried to sit up, her eyes fixed on Jean's face.
▪ be fixed on sb/sth, be glued to sb/sth, be intent on sb/sth, be riveted on/to sb/sth, be trained on sb/sth▪ linger on sb/sth, rest on sb/sth▪ not leave sb/sth▪His eyes never left mine.
▪ look at sb/sth, peer at sb/sth, regard sb/sth▪ glare at sb/sth▪ lock, lock together, meet▪Their eyes locked together in a battle of wills.
▪ dart, flick, flicker, flit, glance, go, leap, move, run, shift, shoot, travel▪His eyes darted from face to face.
▪ roll, swivel▪She tried the door, her eyes rolling in panic.
▪ dance▪Her eyes danced with amusement.
▪ roam, rove▪He let his eyes roam around the scene.
▪ drift, slide, slip, stray, wander▪His eyes drifted over to Helen's chair.
▪ probe sth, rake sth, scan sth, scour sth, search sth, sweep sth▪His eyes scanned the room as he entered.
▪ drop, fall, lower▪Her eyes dropped to her lap as she answered.
▪ lift▪ bore into sb, pierce sb▪She could feel the old lady's eyes bore into her.
▪ accustom to sth, adjust to sth, become accustomed to sth, grow accustomed to sth▪As my eyes accustomed to the darkness, I could make out a shape by the window.
▪ blink▪ twitch▪ crinkle, crinkle up, squint, wrinkle▪His eyes crinkled up at the corners as he smiled.
▪Her eyes squinted against the brightness.
▪ strain▪My eyes strained to make anything out in the darkness.
▪ slant▪ bulge, pop▪His eyes bulged in fury.
▪ betray sb/sth, give sb/sth away, show sth▪His narrow eyes betrayed his impatience.
▪She responded softly, her eyes showing concern.
▪ tell (sb) sth▪Her eyes told me nothing.
▪ question (sb)▪ laugh, smile▪ plead▪ mock sb▪ appraise sb/sth, examine sb/sth, scrutinize sb/sth, study sb/sth, survey sb/sth▪ take sth in▪My eyes took in every detail as I entered the house for the first time in twenty years.
EYE + NOUN▪ muscles, socket▪ contact▪I knew he was lying because he wouldn't make eye contact with me.
▪ movement▪Rapid eye movements frequently accompany dreaming.
▪ doctor, specialist, surgeon▪ hospital▪ operation, surgery, treatment▪ exam, examination, test▪ damage, defect, disease, disorder, infection, injury, strain▪ drops▪The doctor gave me eye drops to put in three times a day.
▪ protection▪It is essential to wear some form of eye protection.
▪ liner (usually eyeliner), make-up, shadow (usually eyeshadow)▪ colour/color▪ level▪Your computer screen should be at eye level.
▪ candy (informal, figurative)▪The series has plenty of eye candy (= people that are pleasant to look at).
PREPOSITION▪ in your eyes▪There were tears in his eyes as he spoke.
▪The sun was in my eyes and I couldn't see the road.
▪ under sb's eye▪I want you under my eye (= where I can see you).
PHRASES▪ as far as the eye can see▪The tide was out, leaving nothing but mud as far as the eye could see.
▪ before your very eyes▪Before our very eyes, the bird snatched the fish from the plate and flew off.
▪ can't keep your eyes off sb/sth, can't take your eyes off sb/sth▪He couldn't keep his eyes off the girl sitting opposite him.
▪ roll your eyes heavenward (= to show that you are annoyed or impatient)▪She rolled her eyes heavenward when she saw what her husband was wearing.
▪ a gleam in sb's eye, a glint in sb's eye, a twinkle in sb's eye▪He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye.
▪ have an eye on sb/sth (= be watching)▪The store detective had his eye on a group of boys who were acting suspiciously.
▪ keep an eye on sb/sth (= watch)▪Could you keep an eye on my bag for a moment?
▪ keep an eye out for sb/sth, keep your eyes open for sb/sth (= watch out for)▪I walked around the store, keeping an eye out for bargains.
▪ lay eyes on/upon sb/sth, set eyes on/upon sb/sth▪Tom fell in love the moment he laid eyes on her.
▪From the moment he set eyes on her he knew that he wanted to marry her.
▪ out of the corner of your eye▪Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry start forward.
▪ tears fill sb's eyes▪ to/with the naked eye, to/with the unaided eye▪The planet should be visible to the naked eye (= without a telescope).
▪ under sb's watchful eye▪A boy was playing outside under the watchful eye of his mother.
▪ with your own eyes▪If I hadn't seen his jump with my own eyes, I would never have believed it possible.
2 ability to seeADJECTIVE▪ eagle, good, keen, quick, sharp▪The children's eagle eyes spotted an ice-cream seller half a mile away.
▪A surgeon needs a good eye and a steady hand.
PREPOSITION▪ eye for▪Her skill at working with wood is coupled to a keen eye for design.
3 way of seeingADJECTIVE▪ careful, cautious, close, suspicious, wary, watchful▪The government is keeping a close eye on the economy.
▪ critical, stern▪ jaundiced▪ fresh, new▪He saw his students with new eyes now that he had a child of his own.
▪ kindly, sympathetic▪ discerning▪ experienced, expert, practised/practiced▪To an expert eye, the painting is an obvious fake.
▪ inexperienced, untrained▪ artisticPREPOSITION▪ in sb/sth's eye▪She can do no wrong in his eyes.
▪In the eyes of the law his knife was an offensive weapon.
▪ through sb's eyes▪You need to look at your website through the user's eyes.
▪ to sb's eye▪To my eye, the windows seem out of proportion.
▪ with a … eye▪She viewed the findings with a critical eye.
▪ with the eye of▪He looked at the design with the eye of an engineer.
PHRASES▪ in your mind's eye (= your imagination)▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}He pictured the scene in his mind's eye.
verbADVERB▪ keenly (esp. BrE), narrowly, sharply, shrewdly▪ curiously, speculatively, thoughtfully▪ carefully, cautiously, suspiciously, warily▪ nervously▪ doubtfully, uncertainly▪ coldly, coolly▪ greedily, hungrily▪The children eyed the cakes greedily.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
