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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scowl
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 June 2025
Rossini has replaced disdain with dedication and swapped out scowls for smiles.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 22 May 2025
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 14 July 2025
In the meantime, Claude scrutinized the room, alternately winking and scowling at the residents and care workers within eyeshot before diligently watching the door.
—Hazlitt, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for scowl
Noun
Balthazar, played in a hipster fade and with a puppy-dog scowl by Jaeden Martell, is a New York rich kid with a life coach and a divorced mother (Jennifer Ehle) who’s too busy throwing political cocktail parties to pay him much attention.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 June 2025
Rossini has replaced disdain with dedication and swapped out scowls for smiles.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 22 May 2025
Verb
The dancers are slinky rather than angular, grinning rather than scowling, frisky rather than tough.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 14 July 2025
In the meantime, Claude scrutinized the room, alternately winking and scowling at the residents and care workers within eyeshot before diligently watching the door.
—Hazlitt, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for scowl
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scowl
Noun
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In an alarming sight for an already-banged-up inside linebacker room, Greenlaw pulled up with a grimace after covering J.K. Dobbins on an LB-RB one-on-one pass-coverage drill.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
31 July 2025
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In one image, Scales, who had won a Military Cross for his bravery at the front, wears a crooked grimace that suggests recent anguish.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
13 July 2025
Verb
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Despite finding themselves in the glaring spotlight, the Grateful Dead weren’t fazed by fame.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
30 Aug. 2025
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After a while, though, the lack of conflict in her world becomes glaring.—
Hannah Gold,
New Yorker,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Luckily, life is going to improve in nearly every way going forward, so proceed with a smile rather than a frown.—
Kyle Thomas,
People.com,
10 Aug. 2025
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The aim was to encode the various nuanced ways human faces transmit states of mind, and then to visualize them; smiles and frowns are the barest beginning.—
Dan Rockmore,
New Yorker,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Taking refuge in Utah, a world away I’m sitting here, staring at these majestic mountains that in the summer can appear brown, blue, green, gold or gray depending on the time of day or how the sun hits them.—
Suzette Hackney,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
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One where the entire community would gather to stare blankly at price tags, sit on bulky massage chairs, and sample glossy pieces of teriyaki chicken in a grand dining hall.—
Annabelle Canela,
Parents,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scowl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scowl. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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