onlookers

plural of onlooker
as in spectators
someone who sees or watches something several onlookers gave chase after the thief grabbed the woman's purse

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of onlookers Officers remained at the scene to de-escalate the situation and direct a crowd of onlookers away from the area, police said. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026 Crowds gave the couple balloons and flowers, Britain’s PA Media news agency reported, with Harry and Meghan stopping to greet onlookers and pose for selfies. — Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026 At the Homo Faber craft festival in Venice this past September, one such work—its mouth opening up like a blooming flower—had onlookers resisting the urge to touch it. — Hannah Martin, Architectural Digest, 13 Oct. 2026 The outdoor temperature might have registered as freezing, but the crowd of onlookers sizzled with excitement. — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026 His lack of experience in the realms of ballet, classical music, opera, and jazz, formerly the center’s mainstays, have concerned some onlookers. — News Desk, Artforum, 9 Oct. 2026 This phone’s standout feature is the adjustable privacy display, which can hide your entire screen, or just portions of it, from onlookers and strangers. — Brad Bourque, The Verge, 9 Oct. 2026 In just a couple of months, fields in Palm Beach County’s Ag Reserve will be full of players from around the world competing on horseback, scoring goals with mallets and a ball as onlookers tailgate on the sidelines. — Abigail Hasebroock, Sun Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026 The fact that Simmons and O’Hare frequently butt heads publicly makes the race even more compelling to onlookers, Rottinghaus said. — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for onlookers
Noun
  • According to Long, the gathering grew from about 40 cars and a few hundred spectators in 2014 to 300 display cars and thousands of visitors at Luftgekühlt 12 this year.
    — Chris Hardesty, AJC.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The rowing competition on the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge attracts about 12,000 athletes and 370,000 spectators from around the world for the three-day event.
    — Anna Meiler, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Coleman found instructive a 1938 ruling in favor of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who challenged a radio station that placed observers on a rooftop next to Forbes Field and paid them to provide play-by-play for an unauthorized radio broadcast.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Such actions are scaring people away from coming to court, whether as witnesses, defendants or observers, Bonta said, and amount to a blatant abuse of power.
    — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • But giving him a national platform without confronting his record does a disservice to viewers and to the people of Illinois.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Asking viewers to contemplate childhood pain while monitoring digestion requires two kinds of attention that Duffield only intermittently brings together.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Onlookers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/onlookers. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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