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Glite Dictionary
to glaze over

to glaze over

11 5.3
Eyes look shiny and unfocused when a person is tired or bored
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡleɪz ˈoʊvər/
translation icon : quedarse con la mirada vidriosa
  • When you try to explain, their eyes glaze over.
  • eyes glaze over

When we overuse a term like narcissism, people's eyes glaze over and they stop taking it seriously.

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Examples

  • Since I am not a chemist, my eyes tend to glaze over at the details.

    Blog text (9)

  • Julie looks out the window with glazed-over eyes.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • You face the fact that his eyes have been glazed over for a long time.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Instead, he looked out beyond the window and his eyes glazed over, as if he were trying to see into the past.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • That probably made your eyes glaze over as I started reading it, right?

  • See how long it takes for his eyes to glaze over.

    Spirited (2022)

  • If all this is beginning to make your eyes glaze over, please be patient.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Deckie's eyes glazed over, and he began looking toward the house.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • After that, even the best, most attentive students' eyes glaze over, and they begin to fidget.

    Blog text (25)

  • When she started telling the long story, I could see his eyes glaze over with boredom.

Synonyms

to glaze
vsto glaze over
25 4.6

To become smooth and shiny in look, often because someone is tired or not paying attention

is specific to eyes turning glassy from tiredness, boredom, or inattention
to blur
vsto glaze over
20 3.7

To lose focus so that things look unclear

describes eyes that look shiny and unfocused due to boredom or tiredness
to glass
vsto glaze over
1 7.2

To become smooth and shiny, like a clear window

is about eyes becoming unfocused due to tiredness or boredom
to glass over
vsto glaze over
1 6.8

Eyes or face become dull and show no expression

describes eyes becoming shiny and unfocused from tiredness or inattention
to film over
vsto glaze over
1 7.3

To become covered with a thin layer that makes eyes or glass look cloudy

refers to eyes going glassy and unfocused from tiredness or boredom

How Dull

to glaze over
11 5.3
to unfocus
1 7.4

Surface Forms

glaze over infinitive
glazed over past
glazed over past participle
glazing over present participle
glazes over third person singular

Morphology

glaze + over

The meaning 'to become shiny, glassy, and unfocused' is directly derivable from 'glaze' (to become or make glassy) combined with the particle 'over' indicating a resultant or changed state; a learner who knows both words can predict this sense. This verb+particle composition follows common, cross-linguistically recurrent patterns (eyes becoming glassy), so the expression is immediately comprehensible rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

The verb glaze over comes from the image of eyes getting a shiny, glass-like layer, like pottery with a glaze on it. So when someone's eyes glaze over, they look bright but empty and 'unfocused' from tiredness or boredom.