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Glite Dictionary
round-eyed

round-eyed

1 4.8
Having large, open eyes that show surprise or childlike wonder
  • adjective
  • /ˈraʊndˌaɪd/
translation icon : de ojos grandes
  • She gazed round-eyed at the beautiful fireworks lighting up the night sky.

Examples

  • A ragtag lot of starvelings they were; men, women, and children, unkempt, round-eyed with hunger, for even what they stole was barely enough to serve them.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Jimmy looked like a man, and Philip was round-eyed with awe as his grandfather handed the scroll of the Law to his father, and his father handed it to Steve.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Farm children watched them round-eyed as they passed.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I feel like the pale, round-eyed giant ghost cat of some nightmarish Japanese legend.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • My co-workers and section chief stared at me round-eyed.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • A Christian, round-eyed populace would have been regarded as too godly for guinea pig status.

    Academic text (2012)

  • "Felton gazed at him, round-eyed and respectful."

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Alma raised herself in bed like a surfacing manatee and stared at him, round-eyed.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Taken at first for one of the Horse Clan, Lucian explained that he was only an honorary member, then wished he had said nothing, for the girls drew back, round-eyed and fearful.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The children watched the magician, their faces round-eyed in awe and excitement.

Synonyms

wide-eyed
vsround-eyed
27 3.4

A person who has eyes open wide because they feel surprised or full of wonder

focuses more on innocence and childlike wonder rather than every open eye case
bug-eye
vsround-eyed
4 7.5

Having big eyes that stick out and look surprised

carries softer, more innocent wonder not the odd protruding look
goggle-eyed
vsround-eyed
1 7.6

Having eyes wide open because you feel surprised or amazed

leans toward innocence and wonder rather than strong fear or protrusion
saucer-eyed
vsround-eyed
1 7.2

Having very large round eyes that show surprise

is used more for gentle innocence, not necessarily extreme surprise
goggly
vsround-eyed
  • Informal
1 8.1

Having very large eyes that look surprised

suggests gentle surprise or wonder instead of bulging, staring intensity
bugeye
vsround-eyed
7.9

A person or animal that has very large, round eyes that stick out

emphasizes childlike innocence and surprise rather than insect like protrusion
ox-eyed
vsround-eyed
9.6

A face with large, round eyes that look gentle or surprised

conveys innocence and childlike wonder rather than a heavy, wide look

How Wide

bug-eye
4 7.5
round-eyed
1 4.8
wide-eyed
27 3.4

Surface Forms

round-eyed positive

Morphology

round-eyed = round + eye (transparent) = round + eye + ed

Formed by combining 'round' + 'eye' with the adjectival idea '-ed' (having round eyes); the meaning is directly inferable from the components.

Etymology

Round-eyed is made from round ('circular') and eye ('part of the body you see with'), so it literally means 'having round eyes'. That's why we use round-eyed to describe someone with wide, surprised, or childlike wonder in their eyes.