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Glite Dictionary
green-eyed gaze

green-eyed gaze

8.2
A look that shows jealousy or anger
  • noun
translation icon : mirada celosa
  • The captain's green-eyed gaze met hers evenly.

Examples

  • She gave him a green-eyed gaze when she saw him talking to another girl.

  • His green-eyed gaze betrayed his jealousy as he watched her with someone else.

  • The artist captured her green-eyed gaze, filled with envy, in his portrait.

Synonyms

gooseberry eye
vsgreen-eyed gaze
  • UK
9.9

A look that shows dislike, suspicion, or jealousy

focuses mainly on jealousy or other strong emotional intensity

Antonyms

eye-beaming
8.8

A bright happy look with the eyes that shows strong feeling

Surface Forms

green-eyed gaze singular
green-eyed gazes plural

Morphology

green-eyed + gaze

The noun 'gaze' (a sustained look) is transparent, but 'green-eyed' is metaphorical: its jealous meaning rests on the cultural color-to-emotion link (green = envy) rather than a straightforward composition of 'green' + 'eyed'. A B1 learner who knows the individual words could plausibly interpret it literally (someone with green eyes) unless they already know the idiomatic association, so the overall expression is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Green-eyed gaze comes from the old image of jealousy as a 'green-eyed monster' used in stories. The green-eyed part links 'green' to envy and the gaze is a look, so a green-eyed gaze means 'a jealous or envious look'.