I am looking for a word or a phrase to describe someone looking seductively at someone. without implying
having considered these:
- stare
- gaze
But none of these words connote the seductive sense.
asked Jan 14, 2015 at 18:59
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Seductive has a wide range of synonyms of varying inflections of nuance, taste and decency. But simply replacing looking seductively with, for example, looking amorously, presumably does not do the business. You seem to require a single word which replaces looking seductively. I can't think of one.– WS2Commented Jan 14, 2015 at 19:09
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Have you tried Googling "seductive synonym"? There's a wealth of options there...thesaurus.com/browse/seductive– Kristina LopezCommented Jan 14, 2015 at 19:09
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3@HotLicks, huh? You have to imagine that Jessica Rabbit is looking at someone with that expression and body language...not just adopting the look of seduction! Anyway, if it was a case of adopting a look of seduction, it would be "looking seductive", not "looking seductively" as the OP requested. IMO, of course! :-)– Kristina LopezCommented Jan 14, 2015 at 20:17
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10Bedroom eyes.– Dan BronCommented Jan 14, 2015 at 20:30
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2Without implying what?!– curiousdanniiCommented Jan 15, 2015 at 2:22
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11 Answers
Anne Heche to Harrison Ford: Oh, don't give me that, you were ogling.
1-ogle, look at with amorously (vocabulay.com)
2-give the glad eye, look seductively at someone (vocabulay.com)
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OMG, I found a verb- give the glad eye, but why is it not "give a glad eye". Commented Jan 14, 2015 at 21:36
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With Anne Heche it might be "give the gay eye", depending on when in her career/life you're discussing. Commented Jan 14, 2015 at 23:01
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+1, not for "ogle", though i have watched 6 days and 7 nights..I find "give the glad eye" an excellent to know verb which fits in completely. though, it appears that the answer is still open to debate. Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 13:22
The suggestions ogle and leer both have quite negative connotations, and they're motivated more by expressing desire than the intent to seduce. Suggestions I have are simply using "seductive gaze", "sultry gaze", or "flirtateous look."
Macmillan states that to eye someone is "to look at someone in a way that shows you are sexually attracted to them."
Note that Macmillan tags this usage as AMERICAN; it's likely a shortened form of the more common make eyes at someone.
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3I would not say that "to eye" is nearly so well-defined in terms of implying sexual interest. A detective might "eye" the subject of his stakeout, without any sexual motivation at all. Commented Jan 14, 2015 at 22:58
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1To 'eye' something is usually to watch something with interest, and when the subject of that interest is a person, I'd make the case that that interest is usually based upon suspicion or sexual interest, depending on the context.– machineCommented Jan 15, 2015 at 6:03
You could call it a come-hither look.
answered Jan 15, 2015 at 4:56
In Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore, the melodramatic madwoman blames her condition on her having been seduced and abandoned by the melodramatic villain or “bad baronet”; and she describes the former operation as having been effected by means of “an Italian glance.” (The libretto thereupon calls for her to demonstrate, mightily puzzling many a mezzo.) A little less recherché, perhaps, but rather specific to a woman’s seducing a man, is the phrase to bat one’s eyelashes.
answered Jan 14, 2015 at 19:53
To leer may be used to suggest the idea of a seductive look:
- to look with a sidelong glance, indicative especially of sexual desire or sly and malicious intent.
- Do not leer at women with low cut tops.
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1leer: a desirous, sly, or knowing look.thefreedictionary.com/leer– user66974Commented Jan 14, 2015 at 21:39
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3Leer has very negative connotations: more creepy or pervy than seductive. Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 0:12
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I don't see why seductive is supposted to have a 'positive' connotation. Why shoudn't a 'dirty' look be seductive?– user66974Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 7:27
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1Leer implies that the leerer is interested, but also that it's creepy and will have an effect opposite seduction. Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 7:28
Hannibal Lecter to Clarice Starling:
No. We begin by coveting what we see every day. Don't you feel eyes moving over your body, Clarice? And don't your eyes seek out the things you want?
Covet 1. cov•et verb \ˈkə-vət\ : to want (something that you do not have) very much (transitive verb): to wish for earnestly 2. to desire (what belongs to another) inordinately or culpably
Covetous; 1. (Adjective) Inordinately desirous; excessively eager to obtain and possess (especially money); avaricious; — cov•et•able -və-tə-bəl\ adjective — cov•et•er -tər\ noun — cov•et•ing•ly -tiŋ-lē\ adverb
from Definitions.net
A few of suggestions:
- As Juliet walked in the room, Romeo stole a siren glance.
- As Cathy rode across the moor, Heathcliff gazed lasciviously.
- As Elizabeth bosom heaved, Darcy's quivering lips could not conceal his bedroom eyes.
- As Cleopatra's form unrolled from her carpet, Anthony stared alluringly.
- Noticing Henry's stare, Ann blinked coquettishly.
answered Jan 15, 2015 at 0:26
Wink communicates affection with the eyes and can become a seductive signal:
VERB
[NO OBJECT]
- Close and open one eye quickly, typically to indicate that something is a joke or a secret or as a signal of affection or greeting:
Longingly gazed into her eyes.
Longingly tends to portray a sense of desire that may not be full filled.
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I believe either ogling or leering at someone will denote seductive look.
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2And dirty young ones, too!– user98990Commented Jan 14, 2015 at 22:26
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@LittleEva - Quite right. Dirty old men start off as dirty young men, or even dirty little boys. :) Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 3:38