"looked at someone as" + adjective

Question

Context: "My groupmates looked at me as weird when my mother came to see me every Monday."

Is "looked as weird" okay? Or should it be "looked at me as a weirdo"? I'm not sure what the rule is for using adjectives + as.

Answer 1

The phrase "looked at me as weird" doesn't sound correct to my ears. What I would use instead would depend on context:

• "looked at me weirdly": The group was in the room, Mom came in, and they gave me a weird look. This doesn't work with the "every Monday" thing unless the group was also there every Monday when Mom arrived.

• "saw me as weird": When they found out my mom visited me every Monday, they thought I was weird. Could also be used with "as a weirdo" with no change in meaning.

• "looked on me as weird"/"looked down on me as weird": Correct but uncommon phrasing where I'm from (intermountain west US), and implies that the group thinks less of me now. Use of "as a weirdo" would be just as uncommon.

• "looked at me as a weirdo": sounds better than "looked at me as weird", but it still implies physical looking rather than a change of the image of me in their heads.

To me, "saw me as weird" and "looked at me as a weirdo" sound best, but they have slightly different connotations: "saw me as weird [from then on]" and "looked at me [in the moment] as a weirdo."