The term looking and seeing refers to a glance at something or someone that is initiated by a person. People get confused with these two terms as they have almost similar things, but the meanings are different. People are mainly confused, so we have discussed the differences between both terms. The terms are used to explain different scenarios.
Key Takeaways
- Looking implies a conscious, directed visual focus on an object or area while seeing encompasses the passive reception of visual stimuli.
- Seeing involves a more comprehensive understanding or interpretation of visual information, whereas looking is a more superficial action.
- Looking is intentional, whereas seeing can occur without conscious effort.
Looking vs Seeing
Looking means the intentional attempt to direct your gaze to something, someone, or in a direction without hesitating. It is the action of a person that wants to have sight of something. Seeing is the act of catching a glimpse at something, but not on purpose, and the sight is blurry.
Looking is the intentional attempt to catch a glance at someone or something without any hesitation. Therefore, the person purposely wants to have sight of the other person or thing. Looking is termed to be a verb. Hence, it symbolizes the action of a person who wants to have an interest in the opposite purpose.
Seeing is the unintentional attempt to catch a glimpse of something, and hence it is hesitated by the person. Therefore, the person does not purposely want to have sight of the other person or thing. The sight is blurry. Seeing is also termed to be a verb. Hence, it symbolizes the action of a person with no specific interest in the opposite purpose, but it catches a glimpse.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Looking | Seeing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Looking refers to one’s action that involves a direct gaze at someone or something. | Seeing refers to one’s action that involves simply having a glance if someone or something. |
| The etymology of the Term | The term look has come from the old English term ‘locian’, meaning using of eyes for gazing at something. | The term see has come from two Latin terms namely vis and also one of its variant vid, which refers to ‘see’, meaning visual. |
| Depth of the Meaning | When a person is looking at someone or something then it is said that it involves a conscious and or intentional attempt. | When a person is seeing someone or something then it is said that it involves an unconscious or unintentional attempt. |
| Verb Type | Looking is considered a regular verb. | Seeing is considered to be an irregular verb. |
| Action | Since looking at someone or something is a conscious action and therefore it is not considered to be an automatic action. | Since seeing someone or something is an unconscious action and therefore it is considered to be an automatic action. |
| Progressive Tense | The term ‘looking’ is used along with progressive tenses. | The term ‘seeing’ is not used along with the progressive tenses. |
| Present Tense/Infinitive | The present tense or the infinitive of the term looking are look and looks. | The present tense or the infinitive if the term seeing is see. |
| Example | Ravi was looking for his car keys. | Marry remembers seeing some good old childhood photos of her best friend. |
What is Looking?
Looking is a term that is used to describe the intentional gaze at someone or something by the opposite person with its eyes. Looking in the present continuous tense form of the term look or looks. The look is also said to be an infinitive term. The term look has come from the old English term ‘locian’, meaning using of eyes for gazing at something. The term from which the word look originated describes the meaning itself.
Looking is considered a regular verb. It is considered a regular verb because it also never changes its pattern in the other tense. The major infinitive term ‘look’ is never changed and hence remains the same. When a person is looking at someone or something, then it is said that it involves a conscious and or intentional attempt. This is because when we look at someone or something, we purposely want to have a glimpse of that thing. The action involved is not carried out without the sense of the person.
Also, looking at someone or something is a conscious action and therefore is not considered an automatic action. The person has the full sense of the action. One more point to be noted is that the term ‘looking’ is used along with progressive tenses. One fine example of the term looking is — Ravi was looking for his car keys. Here in this sentence, it is directed that Ravi has forgotten or lost his car keys, and therefore, he is purposely in search of those keys.
What is Seeing?
The term seeing is used to portray a sentence in a way where it means that a person unintentionally has a glimpse of someone or something with their eyes. Its main purpose is not to have a glimpse of the thing, but, its vision is blurry and not clear. The person who sees something or someone then he/she slightly remembers that instance, but it is not that clear since it’s unintentional. The present tense or the infinitive if the term seeing is ‘see’.
The term see has come from two Latin terms: vis and one of its variants, vid, which refers to ‘see’, meaning visual. The term gives a clear definition of the term. Also, it is said that when a person sees someone or something, then it involves an unconscious or unintentional attempt. Since we already know it is unintentional. Therefore, the person is unconscious or unaware of the visual.
Seeing is considered to be an irregular verb. The term see changes its spelling when in other tenses, such as saw, seen, etc. Hence, it is considered an irregular verb. It also can not be used with other progressive tenses. It is an automatic action without the proper knowledge. One example of the term Seeing is — Marry remembers seeing some good old childhood photos of her best friend. In this sentence, we can clearly know that Marry has seen a childhood photo of her best friend without any intention of seeing it, but by mistake, she saw that photo, and now she has a glimpse of it.
Main Differences Between Looking and Seeing
- Looking refers to one’s action that involves directing a gaze at someone or something. On the other hand, seeing refers to one’s action that involves simply having a glance if someone or something.
- The term look has come from the old English term ‘locian’, meaning using of eyes for gazing at something. On the other hand, the term see has come from two Latin terms: vis and one of its variants, vid, which refers to ‘see’, meaning visual.
- When a person looks at someone or something, it is said that it involves a conscious and or intentional attempt. On the other hand, when a person is seeing someone or something, then it is said that it involves an unconscious or unintentional attempt.
- Looking is considered a regular verb. On the other hand, seeing is considered to be an irregular verb.
- Since looking at someone or something is a conscious action, it is not considered an automatic action. On the other hand, seeing someone or something is an unconscious action and therefore is considered an automatic action.
- The term ‘looking’ is used along with progressive tenses. On the other hand, the term ‘seeing’ is not used along with progressive tenses.
- The present tense or the infinitive of the term looking are look and looks. On the other hand, the present tense or the infinitive if the term seeing is see.
- One example of the term Looking is Ravi was looking for his car keys. On the other hand, one example of the term Seeing is Marry remembers seeing some good old childhood photos of her best friend.
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/135062800394766
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ZnrnCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=looking+vs+seeing&ots=QOZpnWRbIG&sig=xU8f2r_ITdptRFXYHqzr7FmikJ4
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
Looking and seeing can help us understand how we perceive something. Looking involves a conscious effort to focus on an object, while seeing is passive.
Absolutely, it’s interesting how these two terms provide different ways to understand the process of perceiving things visually.
Do you believe that one is more instinctive than the other?
Looking comes from the Old English term ‘locian’ which means using eyes for gazing at something. Seeing comes from Latin terms ‘vis’ and ‘vid’ meaning visual.
The distinction between the two terms provides valuable insights into our intentions when interacting with the visual world.
I agree, the intentional nature of looking versus the unintentional nature of seeing is particularly noteworthy.
It’s an interesting linguistic and cognitive distinction to explore further.
Looking is a regular verb and is associated with progressive tenses, while seeing is considered an irregular verb and lacks association with progressive tenses.
Each term has different implications and provides unique ways of interacting with the world around us.
Absolutely, the nuanced differences are fascinating from a cognitive perspective.
It’s remarkable how simple linguistic differences can reveal complex cognitive processes.
Definitely, it highlights the intricate nature of human perception.
I appreciate the clarification of the differences between looking and seeing. It’s a helpful distinction.
It’s fascinating to see how language can provide insights into the subtleties of perception.