glance vs glimpse
glance (verb) means 'to look quickly and deliberately' and a glance is the act of quickly looking at someone or something
• I glanced at my watch.
• She gave me an amused glance.
glimpse (verb) means 'to see something or someone by chance for a very short time' and a glimpse is a sight that you see by chance for a very short time
• I glimpsed someone behind the curtain.
• We got a glimpse of her face as she hurried past.
stare vs gaze
stare - to look at something or someone for a long time without moving your eyes, for example because you are surprised, angry, or bored
stare at
What are you staring at?
stare (at somebody) in disbelief/amazement/horror etc
She stared at me in disbelief.
She sat there staring into space (=looking for a long time at nothing).
gaze [always + adverb/preposition]
to look at someone or something for a long time, giving it all your attention, often without realizing you are doing so [= stare]
gaze into/at etc
Nell was still gazing out of the window.
Patrick sat gazing into space (= looking straight in front, not at any particular person or thing).
