as in grimace
a twisting of the facial features in disgust or disapproval
it was clear from the frown on the CEO's face that sales were headed in the wrong direction
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to glare
to look with anger or disapproval
the boss just stood there and frowned at his assistant who, once again, was in trouble
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to dislike
to hold an unfavorable opinion of
a usage that is frowned upon by some grammarians
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frown
Matthew Bremner, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2025
Jean-Baptiste, her mouth set in a tight-lipped frown, her eyes ablaze with fear and loathing, soft-pedals nothing.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2025
Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
Beyond the fact that using AI tools to write is generally frowned upon and considered to be unethical, AI writing has become so ubiquitous that using AI or modeling one’s work off of it is a surefire way to make your materials blend into a sea of other cookie-cutter essays.
—Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for frown
Noun
The old woman, though, stares at the screen, the shadow of a smile curled into her lips and a frown barely creasing her forehead.
—Matthew Bremner, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2025
Jean-Baptiste, her mouth set in a tight-lipped frown, her eyes ablaze with fear and loathing, soft-pedals nothing.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2025
Verb
Hood asked for a special order—without realizing that at Maxwell, a busy place, special orders are frowned upon.
—Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
Beyond the fact that using AI tools to write is generally frowned upon and considered to be unethical, AI writing has become so ubiquitous that using AI or modeling one’s work off of it is a surefire way to make your materials blend into a sea of other cookie-cutter essays.
—Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for frown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frown
Noun
-
Throughout baseball history, such collisions have been met mostly with grimaces and shrugs.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
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Monday’s developments were greeted with grimace around town.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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And only after stomping around for almost two full minutes did Roberts finally retreat, trudging back to the clubhouse with a scowl on his face.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2025
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The rout evened this three-game series and added a laugher to a rivalry usually played with scowls and gritted teeth.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frown. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.
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