opened his eyes wide vs opened his eyes widely

Both phrases are correct, but they have slightly different meanings. 'Opened his eyes wide' is the more common and idiomatic expression, meaning to physically open one's eyes to their maximum extent. 'Opened his eyes widely' is also correct but less common, and it implies that the action of opening the eyes was done in a broad or extensive manner.

Last updated: April 07, 2024 • 904 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"opened his eyes wide"

This phrase means to physically open one's eyes to their maximum extent.

Examples:

He opened his eyes wide in surprise.
The bright light made him open his eyes wide.
She opened her eyes wide to take in the beautiful view.
The scary movie caused him to open his eyes wide in fear.
The child opened his eyes wide with wonder.

Show examples from the web [+]

opened his eyes wide
The good old minister went into the room where the swindlers sat before the empty looms."Heaven preserve us! "he thought, and opened his eyes wide, "I cannot see anything at all," but he did not say so.
His mother opened her eyes wide.
At that very moment, Pinocchio awoke and opened wide his eyes.
"You should learn not to make personal remarks," Alice said with some severity; "it's very rude."The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said was "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?"
He said that when he met me, his eyes opened wide and his pupils dilated like that as well and this had only happened with two people, when he's met me and when he sees his wife.
And his eyes opened wide and he said, "Where have I seen your face before?"
My improvised colleague knew nothing of the enigmatic gentleman that we were going to visit; just imagine how his eyes opened wide when Dr. Rol asked him these questions after welcoming us into his study: You've been married only a few months, right?
When I told him, his eyes opened wide and he asked breathlessly, 'And how are you going to do that? '
"And at that very moment, Pinocchio awoke and opened wide his eyes."
He opened wide his eyes, entered, and saw his wife dressed in beautiful clothes, sitting in a splendid room, and she was quite delighted, and said, Husband, how has all this come to pass?
Sister Marie-Bernard opened her eyes wide, until then kept low.
Sister Marie-Bernard opened her eyes wide, until then kept low. I've seen , the abbot added, the statue that they have set in the grotto. It has its hands joined like this.
It is enough with a meeting of people with the will to join forces, the will to make things happen and with the eyes wide opened in the routes that are being pursued.
The clerk glanced at it, glanced again, this time with wide-opened eyes.
The wide opened eye records the scene that will remain somewhere in the mind kept with the characteristics of the hallucination.
"About a glance, or an eye socket, we say that they are empty because they have contained a vision, but have lost it" says Starobinsky (1994), a wide opened eye now only contains emptiness.
He was found face upward with his eyes wide open.
I just... hope he's going into this with his eyes wide open.
But on this night, one boy chose to dream with his eyes wide open.
Moments later, he was sucking oxygen through a brown paper bag, his eyes wide and darting.His panic attack was interpreted in a humorous way for th...

Alternatives:

widened his eyes
opened his eyes fully
opened his eyes as wide as possible
widened his gaze
widened his eyes in shock

This phrase is correct but less common in English.

"opened his eyes widely"

This phrase implies that the action of opening the eyes was done in a broad or extensive manner.

Examples:

He opened his eyes widely to take in the panoramic view.
She opened her eyes widely to see everything around her.
The magician opened his eyes widely to show the audience.
The actor opened his eyes widely in disbelief.
The explorer opened his eyes widely to observe the wildlife.

Show examples from the web [+]

opened his eyes widely
Children stiffened, having opened widely eyes, with faces, wet from tears.
My father told me to look a kind lady with eyes opened widely.
Then why don't you look at me with your eyes opened widely?
Doctor, he opened his eye.
You know, he closed and then opened his eye.
Rhoades opened his eyes to the bigger picture.
I think I opened his eyes.
Liam hasn't opened his eyes.
Hasn't opened his eyes since.
The vision of Rimbaud opened his eyes to many artists.
Almayerceased his mumbling and opened his eyes.
Pinocchio opened his eyes and closed them again.
The other nurse said he opened his eyes.
A journey Aaltonen made to Italy in 1923 opened his eyes to cubist and futurist art.
Tom opened his eyes and saw Mary.
The specialist Robert Rösch opened his eyes again and pulled his fingers out.
It is probably you that has opened his eyes... to the possibilities of our landscape.
(BABY CRYING) Before he even opened his eyes, his father was already dead.
He hasn't opened his eyes yet, but he is responding to stimuli.
He just opened his eyes a little while ago.

Alternatives:

widened his eyes extensively
opened his eyes broadly
widened his gaze significantly
widened his eyes in awe
widened his eyes in wonder

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opened his eyes wide vs opened his eyes widely