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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frowning
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
Derek Hinkey’s character, the Shoshone warrior Red Feather, is almost always frowning at white settlers, looking undeniably foreboding with his face slathered in black paint and galloping on horseback into battle.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Verb
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
Derek Hinkey’s character, the Shoshone warrior Red Feather, is almost always frowning at white settlers, looking undeniably foreboding with his face slathered in black paint and galloping on horseback into battle.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frowning
Verb
-
But there’s more to Brind’Amour than the person fans see screaming and scowling behind the bench or stomping around the dressing room in a postwin video looking like some combination of Godzilla and Chris Farley’s famous Matt Foley character.—
Cory Lavalette,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
-
My sister was scowling and pacing the path outside my mother’s flat.—
Douglas Stuart,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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One of the most glaring gaps lies between the infrared and millimeter-wavelength radio observations, but the Probe Far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics (PRIMA) would fill much of it.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
15 May 2026
-
The dropoff for Tuch is the most glaring.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
His hands were at ten and two, his face fixed, staring straight ahead.—
Weike Wang,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
-
According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of seizures can include short-term confusion, staring spells, stiff muscles and jerking movements of the arms and legs.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
Sometimes someone’s sullen or preoccupied or way too wound up.—
Risa Polansky Shiman,
Sun Sentinel,
6 May 2026
-
Everybody, including the president’s stern chief of security (Thomas Aquino), is skeptical of Creasy’s preparedness for the job, but Paul welcomes Creasy to multiple dinners with his family, including sullen teenage daughter Poe (Billie Boullet).—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Rocky, meanwhile, wore a camel trench over a gray tee, along with black jeans and combat boots.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
17 May 2026
-
Arguably, the colors are the best part—stand out from the crowds on the trail with this beige-and-pink combo or this cool gray-and-teal pair.—
Francesca Krempa,
Travel + Leisure,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frowning. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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