leer

Definition

To look sideways or obliquely; now especially with sexual desire or malicious intent.

Etymology

Exact development uncertain, but apparently from a verb *leer (“to make a face, look sideways”), from leer (“cheek, face, profile”).

Example Sentences

• "And she looked to Mr. –––– / And leered like a love-sick pigeon."
• "I thought I saw him leer in an ugly way at me while the decanters were going round, but as there was no love lost between us, that might easily be."
• "The Baroness perceived that her entertainer had analyzed material comfort to a sufficiently fine point. And then he possessed the most delightful chinoiseries—trophies of his sojourn in the Celestial Empire: pagodas of ebony and cabinets of ivory; sculptured monsters, grinning and leering on chimney-pieces, in front of beautifully figured hand-screens; […]"