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Glite Dictionary
to keep one's eyes off

to keep one's eyes off

1 5.9
Avoid looking at someone or something on purpose
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : no apartar la vista de
  • I glance down at the open neck of her shirt, trying to keep my eyes off her breasts.

Examples

  • Well, I couldn't keep my eyes off her.

    Burlesque (2010)

  • I just can't keep my eyes off you.

    Payday (1973)

  • He can't keep his eyes off her.

    A Foreign Affair (1948)

  • Despite trying to focus on my work, I couldn't keep my eyes off the beautiful sunset outside.

  • She was so captivating that I found it hard to keep my eyes off her during the entire presentation.

  • No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep his eyes off the delicious dessert on the table.

Synonyms

to look away
vsto keep one's eyes off
125 2.2

Turn your eyes away from a person or thing that makes you uncomfortable

maintains gaze avoidance for longer, deliberately not seeing the person or thing
to look the other way
vsto keep one's eyes off
69 4.7

To ignore something wrong on purpose instead of reporting it

focuses on avoiding visual attention rather than morally ignoring bad acts
to avert
vsto keep one's eyes off
25 5.0

To turn your eyes or face away to avoid something unpleasant

focuses on avoiding visual attention rather than turning aside thoughts
to turn away from
vsto keep one's eyes off
15 3.7

To refuse to have anything to do with someone or something

limits this to avoiding visual attention rather than refusing consideration
to close one's eyes
vsto keep one's eyes off
1.3

Shut your eyes to rest, relax, or not see something

means active avoidance of visual attention rather than resting the eyelids

Antonyms

to stare
∞ 1.0

To look at someone or something for a long time without moving your eyes

to gaze
170 2.6

To look steadily with admiration, surprise, or deep thought

How Observant

to stare
∞ 1.0
to glance
299 1.5
to keep one's eyes off
1 5.9

Surface Forms

keep one's eyes off infinitive
keeping one's eyes off present participle
keeps one's eyes off third person singular
kept one's eyes off past
kept one's eyes off past participle

Morphology

keep + one + eye + off

The meaning 'to deliberately avoid looking' is directly inferable from 'keep' (to hold or maintain) + 'one's eyes' (one's gaze) + 'off' (away); together they compose the idea of keeping one's gaze away from something. This is a regular, compositional pattern in English (and parallels exist in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words is likely to understand it.

Etymology

The idiom keep one's eyes off comes from the simple image of turning your head or looking away so your eyes are kept off something that tempts you. So, it means 'to avoid looking at someone or something on purpose'.