Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To wrinkle or contract the brow as an expression of anger or disapproval. synonym: frown.
- intransitive verb To express (displeasure, for example) with a frowning facial expression.
- noun A look of anger or frowning disapproval.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To lower the brows as in anger or displeasure; frown, or put on a frowning look; look gloomy, severe, or angry: either literally or figuratively.
- To affect with a scowl: as, to
scowl one down or away. - To send with a scowling or threatening aspect.
- noun A lowering or wrinkling of the brows as in anger or displeasure; a look of anger, displeasure, discontent, or sullenness; a frown or frowning appearance or look.
- noun Old workings at the outcrop of the deposits of iron ore. Some of these are of large dimensions, and are ascribed to the Romans.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To look at or repel with a scowl or a frown.
- transitive verb To express by a scowl.
- noun The wrinkling of the brows or face in frowing; the expression of displeasure, sullenness, or discontent in the countenance; an angry frown.
- noun Hence, gloom; dark or threatening aspect.
- intransitive verb To wrinkle the brows, as in frowning or displeasure; to put on a frowning look; to look sour, sullen, severe, or angry.
- intransitive verb Hence, to look gloomy, dark, or threatening; to lower.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The wrinkling of the brows or face in
frowning ; the expression ofdispleasure ,sullenness , ordiscontent in the countenance; an angry frown. - noun Hence,
gloom ; dark or threatening aspect. - verb To wrinkle the brows, as in
frowning or displeasure; to put on a frowning look; to looksour , sullen,severe , orangry . - verb Hence, to look
gloomy ,dark , orthreatening ; to lower. - verb To look at or repel with a scowl or a
frown . - verb To express by a scowl; as, to scowl defiance.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb frown with displeasure
- noun a facial expression of dislike or displeasure
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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I heard he has a mean scowl from the bench.vs. Pittsburgh, 12/23/10
Capitals games I'm NOT looking forward to in 2010-11 Box Seats blogger 2010
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His little scowl is probably a response to the putrid stench that pervaded all of the flooded neighborhoods (that or he's just yukking it up for the camera).
Archive 2005-10-01 Slimbolala 2005
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His little scowl is probably a response to the putrid stench that pervaded all of the flooded neighborhoods (that or he's just yukking it up for the camera).
This Old House Slimbolala 2005
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Kurt belched loudly, provoking a scowl from the Greek.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town Cory Doctorow
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Kristen Stewart’s perma-scowl is gonna be working overtime once she gets wind of reports that Robert Pattinson — her rumored love interest on and off the set of the Twilight films — has been secretly bumping uglies with Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester.
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Somewhere behind the scowl was the start of a little-boy grin.
The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading Charity Tahmaseb 2009
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Somewhere behind the scowl was the start of a little-boy grin.
The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading Charity Tahmaseb 2009
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A scowl was the only reply, but the big mestizo lowered his bow and turned over on his bed of leaves.
The Adventures of Piang the Moro Jungle Boy A Book for Young and Old Florence Partello Stuart
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This favour was dispensed to you from under an overbearing scowl, which is the true expression of the great autocrat when he has made up his mind to give a battering to some ships and to hunt certain others home in one breath of cruelty and benevolence, equally distracting.
The Mirror of the Sea Joseph Conrad 1890
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A certain over-hanging of his brows was -- especially when he contracted them, as, in perplexity or endeavour, he not infrequently did -- called a scowl by such as did not love him; but it was of shallow insignificance, and probably the trick of some ancestor.
There & Back George MacDonald 1864
shevek commented on the word scowl
I was thinking about this word earlier, because of the words it contains — cow, scow, cowl. There aren't a whole lot of words which can, discounting inflection, be expanded on either side or both to form new words. I wonder if there is a name for this kind of wordplay.
August 22, 2008
whichbe commented on the word scowl
Good observation. There's something about the way this word sounds that feels very overwhelming for me.
August 22, 2008