askance

[ uh-skans ]

/ əˈskæns /

with suspicion, mistrust, or disapproval: He looked askance at my offer.

with a side glance; sidewise; obliquely.

Also a·skant

[uh-skant] /əˈskænt/.

Origin of askance

First recorded in 1520–30; earlier a scanche, a sca(u)nce; of obscure origin

1 skeptically, suspiciously.

I looked at him askance, but received not the slightest sign of recognition.

Sixteen Months in Four German Prisons |Henry Charles Mahoney
Aviation, till the coming of the war, was looked at askance by parents who had sons on their hands.

Learning to Fly |Claude Grahame-White
The whole family looked at us askance when we first tied up near their home.

Days in the Open |Lathan A. Crandall
The more conservative of her townspeople looked at her askance.

Cheerful--By Request |Edna Ferber

On the other hand, expressions that once were not considered inelegant are looked at askance in the period following.

Ponkapog Papers |Thomas Bailey Aldrich

askance

/ (əˈskæns) /

with an oblique glance

with doubt or mistrust

C16: of unknown origin

askance

see look askance.