"Gaze at" vs "stare at"

[lilish]

Hi there,

Is it ok to use Gaze at and stare at ,interchangably in the same context as in:
He gazed at me in disbelief
He stared at me in disbelief

[Mister Micawber]

.
'Gazing' is more gentle and relaxed than 'staring', which is filled with pent-up emotion. 'Stare' works much better in your sentence.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber