as in scowling
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Dissimilar Words
as in glaring
to look with anger or disapproval
the boss just stood there and frowned at his assistant who, once again, was in trouble
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frowning
Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
Hillary Chute, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026
Woods, 50, is seen frowning in the photo, taken shortly after the legendary golfer was booked into jail on March 27 after his Land Rover rolled over in Jupiter Island, Florida.
—Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
Hubbard posted an image of herself with a disgusted look on her face from earlier in Season 10, while Dillard shared a photo of himself frowning, also from a scene in the show.
—Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 31 Mar. 2026
Subscribers and consumer advocates may be frowning on Netflix’s latest price hikes, but Wall Street is celebrating the move.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 27 Mar. 2026
Many of the drawings show faces, and most of the faces are frowning.
—Mckenzie Funk, ProPublica, 26 Feb. 2026
The men stood frowning at each other and then back at Adi until the one without the gun broke into croaks of laughter.
—Jonathan Miles, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Smiling can actually lift your mood, while frowning can lower it.
—Valerie Monroe, Allure, 15 Jan. 2026
One mask depicts a frowning hobo with a 5 o'clock shadow that represents the aforementioned vagrant.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Dec. 2025
Adjective
Balogun then looked over at a frowning Ream, who had just finished urging his teammates to be sure to stop and smell the flowers along this World Cup journey.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
Verb
This focuses readers on the all-black uniforms of the veiled pupils, who—in a long frame at the center of the page—sit between the looming, frowning teacher on the right and Marji on the left, who stands up to explain that her uncle was executed by the Islamic regime.
—Hillary Chute, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026
Woods, 50, is seen frowning in the photo, taken shortly after the legendary golfer was booked into jail on March 27 after his Land Rover rolled over in Jupiter Island, Florida.
—Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
Hubbard posted an image of herself with a disgusted look on her face from earlier in Season 10, while Dillard shared a photo of himself frowning, also from a scene in the show.
—Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 31 Mar. 2026
Subscribers and consumer advocates may be frowning on Netflix’s latest price hikes, but Wall Street is celebrating the move.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 27 Mar. 2026
Many of the drawings show faces, and most of the faces are frowning.
—Mckenzie Funk, ProPublica, 26 Feb. 2026
The men stood frowning at each other and then back at Adi until the one without the gun broke into croaks of laughter.
—Jonathan Miles, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Smiling can actually lift your mood, while frowning can lower it.
—Valerie Monroe, Allure, 15 Jan. 2026
One mask depicts a frowning hobo with a 5 o'clock shadow that represents the aforementioned vagrant.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frowning
Adjective
-
The video, which has garnered over 70,000 views as of Wednesday, opens with a scowling Donalds, sitting behind the governor’s desk one year into his hypothetical first term.—
Garrett Shanley,
Miami Herald,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
The negatives are glaring and the team’s recent activity on the transaction wire points to a search for answers, even if none have been overwhelming successes so far.—
C. Trent Rosecrans,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
-
In some cases, though, the glaring sign that an unpaid debt has gone from being delinquent to a serious issue is when a borrower can no longer access money in their bank account.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
Sad, sullen younger half-brother Zach (Joe Anders), unrecovered from a social media misstep, is acting more strangely than teenage boys usually do.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
-
Now, in a more intimate setting, the sullen and sometimes-sarcastic shadings of this longtime singer-songwriter should hark back to Folds’ fledgling days on the alt-music scene.—
David L. Coddon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The camera caught Maher staring at the stage with a slight smile, seemingly unsure how to react.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
13 June 2026
-
Most of us spend hours staring at phones, laptops and tablets every day, and our eyes feel it.—
Samantha Agate,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 June 2026
Adjective
-
The body was inside a bag in the trunk of a gray vehicle, which was opened by police due to its pungent smell.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 June 2026
-
Simply pair them with a basic T-shirt (white, gray, or navy blue will do) or a classic button-down shirt for a perfect outfit.—
Mayte Salido,
Glamour,
13 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frowning. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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