wide-eyed

adjective

ˈwīd-ˈīd How to pronounce wide-eyed (audio)
Synonyms of wide-eyednext
1
: having or marked by unsophisticated or uncritical acceptance or admiration : naive
wide-eyed innocence
2
: having the eyes wide open especially with wonder or astonishment

Synonyms of wide-eyed

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of wide-eyed in a Sentence

a wide-eyed and trusting child the sort of phony UFO "artifacts" that wide-eyed tourists fall for
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Picture Tahoe City’s middle-aged men, wide-eyed in the should-I-pee hour, shadow-climbing the same fifty-seven moves on the same granite face. — Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026 Inside the cafeteria, a wide-eyed crowd has gathered around a teacher showing off a magic trick. — Julie Bourdin, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026 The result is a maximalist record that captures the wide-eyed, everything-at-once optimism of ’90s big beat. — Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 22 Oct. 2026 Ortega brings the right wide-eyed wonder to this kindly android that just wants to be Josie’s pal, having no idea about a secret medical condition that afflicts Josie. — Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for wide-eyed

Word History

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wide-eyed was in 1789

Rhymes for wide-eyed

See All Rhymes for wide-eyed

Browse Nearby Words

wide boy
wide-eyed
wide-flung
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wide-eyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wide-eyed. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

wide-eyed

adjective
ˈwīd-ˈīd
1
: having the eyes wide open especially with wonder or astonishment
2
: naive sense 2
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All