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
-
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
-
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
-
Swiatek’s has the best all-around game, with her second-serve the only glaring weakness.—
Merlisa Lawrence Corbett,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Deep into an auditorium of hundreds, perhaps more, a then-60 year old high school social studies teacher, sitting alone, could feel eyes throughout the room suddenly glaring in his direction.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Firefighters batter Stephen Cullen stared up at Dullaghan from the plate with a frown on his face before giving the fan a thumbs down.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Sep. 2025
-
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
Verb
-
The camera then pans to show the house opposite—where another golden is sitting in the exact same spot in its own yard, staring right back at Copper, but neither crossing the threshold on to the street.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The two men then lie down next to each other and stare at the ceiling.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scowl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scowl. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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