Follow
Share

Rolling your eyes communicates contempt, disrespect, dismissal, annoyance, or a feeling of superiority, signaling that you find what someone said or did foolish, unimportant, or irritating, often as a passive-aggressive way to show strong negative feelings without words, though sometimes it can signal internal struggle or anxiety rather than directed negativity. Common meanings of an eye roll:
Contempt/Disdain: You have a low opinion of the person or their idea, seeing it as worthless.
Dismissal: You're brushing off what was said as silly or not worth engaging with.Annoyance/Frustration: You're fed up with the situation or the person's input.
Superiority: You feel you know better or that the other person is beneath you.
Passive-Aggression: A non-verbal way to express anger or disagreement when direct confrontation feels difficult.
The caregiver is often the recipient of eye rolls from their siblings, or others.I believe this to be a good reason to withdraw from the person giving out the eye roll. Even if you are the caregiver for that person. You do not need to accept this behavior.
If you are doing this to the person you are caring for, you may need to resign and get them help elsewhere.

Find Care & Housing
My Mommy Dearest would purse her lips in a contemptuous puss and would proceed with swatting the air as if I was an annoying gnat if I dared to bring up an issue she did not want to hear. No eye rolling for her. 😂
Helpful Answer (2)
Reply to Hothouseflower
Report

Oh uh no, I wasn't rolling my eyes at something you said I was just "exercising". Really! 🤪
Helpful Answer (2)
Reply to cwillie
Report

Now there is this:
Rolling Your Eyes
Rolling or moving your eyes in circular motions can relieve strain and enhance flexibility. This simple yet effective exercise can improve eyesight naturally at home. This simple trick can improve your vision to 20/20 in 7 days. 

Really?
Helpful Answer (1)
Reply to Sendhelp
Report
lealonnie1 Jan 10, 2026
It "can" I suppose, but I'll betcha $100 it "won't"
🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
(3)
Report
When the eye rolling just as any other behavior etc of a person becomes too much for the caregiver to handle , it’s time for a new plan . A new caregiver and/or placement .
Helpful Answer (2)
Reply to waytomisery
Report

I do invisible eye rolls - from annoyance and frustration.
Helpful Answer (1)
Reply to Lylii1
Report
AlvaDeer Dec 22, 2025
Me, too, Lylii. When he messes up the tech for the smart TV so badly that the tech guy has to come and visit and fix, and I say "Be sure the DVD player (only thing I use TV for is movies)" and the tech guy goes, and I say "Is DVD player hooked in" and he says "Of COURSE it is"....and several days later I find out it isn't? Yeah, I turn my head and my eyes roll like an old fashioned slot machine. He doesn't see it. I don't both to say much; what good will it do. Just call the tech guy back.

That kind of thing. We get used to one another to the extent that we CAN let our eyes roll around our heads like so many marbles. Is it disrespectful? Yeah. But I mean, isn't that what we are saying? That we don't respect this situation. Hee hee.
(1)
Report
Good answers!
Helpful Answer (1)
Reply to Sendhelp
Report
AlvaDeer Dec 21, 2025
Hug, send. We love you.
(2)
Report
See 1 more reply
" You do not need to accept this behavior." I totally agree. You could make it clear to this person that you don't appreciate the gesture and disrespect behind it. You could set a boundary that any more eye rolling and you withdraw from that person. I agree if you are doing it regularly as a caregiver, you may need to replace yourself.

This assumes that the person has full mental capabilities. if not, you are in a different ball game and probably need to let it go. If you can't then caregiving may not be a good role for you.

Alva's point about no longer being the loving family member, but the caregiver, is a good one. It can greatly change the dynamics of a relationship.
Helpful Answer (4)
Reply to golden23
Report

Send, my dear! Here's the TRUTH. No one loves the caregiver. WE move from darling sister, wife, daughter, other to being the prison matron. We are the warden. We are the decider. And they battle us for all their losses. They have in us the one they CAN battle, because what are they to do, scream at the Gods?

Of COURSE they roll their eyes at us. Don't we always have SOMETHING to say about EVERYTHNG they do? They are sick to death of hearing it, quite honestly. And when I speak to caregivers I always warn them that taking on this roll means they left the darling daughter, the beloved wife role BEHIND them.

This is just the fact. The eye roll is a GENTLE way, actually of saying "You think now you are in charge and you know EVERYTHING. Where once you LOOKED UP to me you now look DOWN and you want to direct my every single move. I have lost EVERYTHING and now I have lost also my darling wife who respected me, my darling daughter who counted on me to advice and wisdom, my darling sister who wanted nothing but my happiness. And I am stuck with YOU. Eyeroll.

This is just how it is. And if we are at our best and our strongest we can forgive, we can laugh even. But when we are low, we know that their losses are hideous, but ours are not to be sneezed at!

I can agree that they eyeroll, given or received, isn't fun. But it is mild compared to saying "You know, you make me feel an inch tall. You make me feel less than human. You make me feel the entire would would be better if only I WERE NOT IN IT." An eyeroll simply says "Oh, lordy. THIS again." To me, it's the least of it.
Helpful Answer (3)
Reply to AlvaDeer
Report

I try to keep my eye rolls internal when I'm in public, I save the obvious ones for when I'm out with friends and dissing someone behind their back 👀

Anyone doing that to your face is essentially giving a not so subtle "F you" and you have my permission to respond accordingly.
Helpful Answer (3)
Reply to cwillie
Report

Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter