wide-eyed

wide-eyed — adjective

1. having your eyes opened much wider than normal, caused by a sudden feeling such

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

having your eyes opened much wider than normal, caused by a sudden feeling such as surprise, fear, wonder, or astonishment

Example

The children sat wide-eyed as Marco told them a story about dragons.

linking verb + wide-eyed + as/while clause

Anjali stared wide-eyed at the enormous cake her grandmother had baked.

stared wide-eyed at [something]

Common collocations
  • wide-eyed with surprise
  • wide-eyed with fear
  • wide-eyed with wonder
  • wide-eyed stare
  • look wide-eyed
  • stand wide-eyed
  • wide-eyed amazement
Synonyms
  • bug-eyed

    more informal; suggests bulging eyes from extreme shock

  • pop-eyed

    informal; similar to bug-eyed but less common

  • open-eyed

    neutral; lacks the emotional intensity of wide-eyed

Antonyms
  • squinting

    opposite eye position — partially closed instead of fully open

  • narrow-eyed

    suggests suspicion or anger, not surprise

Grammar Patterns

linking verb + wide-eyed

wide-eyed + noun

Usage Note

Often describes a person's facial reaction to something surprising, frightening, or amazing. Can come before a noun (a wide-eyed child) or after a linking verb (stood wide-eyed). The cause of the reaction is typically introduced by with, at, or a when/as clause.

Common Mistakes

He wide-eyed stared at the painting.
He stared wide-eyed at the painting.
wide-eyed is an adjective, not an adverb; place it after a linking verb or before a noun.
She was wide-eyed with her mouth open.
She was wide-eyed and open-mouthed.
Use with to introduce the cause (wide-eyed with surprise), not a body part.

2. showing a lack of critical judgment that comes from inexperience, so that you ac

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

showing a lack of critical judgment that comes from inexperience, so that you accept people's claims or impressive sights without suspicion or doubt

Example

Xiu was wide-eyed about the promises the salesperson made, not noticing the hidden fees.

wide-eyed about [something]

The film shows how wide-eyed tourists can easily fall for street scams.

Common collocations
  • wide-eyed admiration
  • wide-eyed innocence
  • wide-eyed belief
  • wide-eyed optimism
  • wide-eyed idealism
  • no longer wide-eyed
Synonyms
  • naive

    closest in meaning; lacks the visual metaphor of open eyes

  • gullible

    more negative focus on being easily tricked

  • credulous

    formal register; too willing to believe without evidence

  • innocent

    suggests purity and lack of harmful intent, not just inexperience

Antonyms
  • skeptical

    questions claims before accepting them; opposite of uncritical acceptance

  • cynical

    negative in the opposite direction — distrusts everything and everyone

  • worldly

    experienced and knowledgeable about how the world operates

Grammar Patterns

wide-eyed + noun

linking verb + wide-eyed

Usage Note

Describes someone whose inexperience leads them to trust too easily. Carries a gentler tone than gullible — it suggests innocence or youthful idealism rather than foolishness. Often used with a touch of affection or nostalgia. The loss of this quality is commonly expressed with no longer not wide-eyed anymore.

Common Mistakes

The wide-eyed tourist did not understand the city's dangers.
The wide-eyed tourist trusted everyone she met and did not notice the warning signs.
The word emphasizes uncritical trust, not just lack of understanding.
She was very wide-eyed about his lies, so she believed him.
She was wide-eyed and believed his lies without questioning them.
wide-eyed about is less common; prefer wide-eyed as a standalone adjective describing the person's general tendency.

Word family

  • wide-eyedness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/2

All four words describe a tendency to believe too easily, but each has a different tone. Naive is the closest synonym to wide-eyed and carries a similar mix of inexperience and idealism — it suggests someone has not yet learned how tricky the world can be. Gullible is more negative, focusing on how easily someone is fooled or tricked; calling a person gullible implies they lack judgment, not just experience. Credulous is the formal equivalent, appearing mostly in writing and describing a willingness to accept claims without evidence. Innocent shifts the meaning toward moral purity — it suggests someone is free of harmful intent or knowledge of evil, rather than simply inexperienced. Example: 'The wide-eyed young man still believed politicians kept their promises.' Using gullible would sound harsher here; naive or innocent would fit but miss the visual metaphor of open, trusting eyes.

naive ↗gulliblecredulousinnocent ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • wide-eyed stare
  • wide-eyed expression
  • wide-eyed wonder
  • wide-eyed innocence
  • wide-eyed admiration

Adverbs

  • still wide-eyed
  • quite wide-eyed
  • rather wide-eyed
  • no longer wide-eyed

Prepositions

  • wide-eyed with
  • wide-eyed at
  • wide-eyed about

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Wide-eyed is a compound adjective formed from the adjective wide (meaning 'fully open' or 'extending to the full extent') and eyed (the past-participle form of eye, meaning 'having eyes of a particular kind'). The literal meaning — having one's eyes fully open — dates from the early 1800s and soon developed a figurative use for someone whose open-eyed innocence makes them easy to impress or deceive. The compound was formed on the same pattern as other -eyed adjectives in English (blue-eyed, sharp-eyed, eagle-eyed).