as in grimace
a twisting of the facial features in disgust or disapproval
the man across the street never seems to wear anything but a scowl
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Recent Examples of scowl
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025
In body and scowl, Paquita radiated like the Disney villain Ursula — a character also inspired by a drag queen, famed actor and performer Divine — but in spirit and heart was far from the sea-dwelling witch who stole an innocent mermaid’s voice.
—Alex Zaragoza, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2025
Caroline Framke, Vulture, 22 May 2025
Editors’ Picks Fired Federal Worker Flirts on Finch Mr. Trump scowled when one of Mr. Ramaphosa’s aides, a Black woman, tried to explain that brutal crimes in general are a problem in South Africa.
—Zolan Kanno-Youngs, New York Times, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for scowl
Noun
That whoop-ass machine is played with a fierce scowl by MMA fighter Michelle Waterson.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025
In body and scowl, Paquita radiated like the Disney villain Ursula — a character also inspired by a drag queen, famed actor and performer Divine — but in spirit and heart was far from the sea-dwelling witch who stole an innocent mermaid’s voice.
—Alex Zaragoza, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2025
Verb
Smash-cut to: a scowling woman leaving a police station in a black minidress and the telltale thick eyeliner smudge of A Woman Who Doesn’t Have Her Life Together.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 22 May 2025
Editors’ Picks Fired Federal Worker Flirts on Finch Mr. Trump scowled when one of Mr. Ramaphosa’s aides, a Black woman, tried to explain that brutal crimes in general are a problem in South Africa.
—Zolan Kanno-Youngs, New York Times, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for scowl
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scowl
Noun
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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
Verb
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Jaden Springer, Jazz (NG) Springer is only 22 and has shown real promise as a defender, but his 23.8 percent career mark on 3s is a glaring problem.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
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Meloni's body language was reminiscent of another moment of friction at a past G7 summit — when then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel was photographed in 2018 leaning over a table to glare at President Donald Trump, who in turn, folded his arms across his chest and glared back.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
17 June 2025
Noun
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Young visitors at the Vietnam Military History Museum posted photos of themselves next to the flag with deep frowns, thumbs down or middle fingers raised.—
Stephanie Yang,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2025
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In this community, mention of President Trump elicits shudders, frowns or blank stares.—
Kurt Streeter,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
Verb
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Far too often, business leaders get caught staring at the wrong gauges—hyper-focused on vanity metrics, internal politics or the crisis of the week.—
Ryan Kunkel,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
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Captured in the early morning, the video shows the woman entering her kitchen to find her partner staring at a grey cat, which is nonchalantly eating from a bowl on the floor.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scowl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scowl. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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