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We send this word, glower, out to the glaring grumps, the scowling scoundrels, and the pouting pessimists of the world. Its gloomy roots grow in Scotland, where glower (or glowren, to use the older Scottish form of the word) has been used since the late Middle Ages. Originally, the word meant simply "to look intently" or "to stare in amazement," but by the late 1700s, glowering stares were being associated with anger instead of astonishment. We can offer no explanation for this semantic development, but we will submit that in its evolved form it reminds us of an older and unrelated English word: lower (it rhymes with flower) means "to frown or look sullen."
Examples of glower in a Sentence
Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024
Below were two images, one showing Roche in custody and the other a headshot of him glowering at the camera.
—Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2024
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Mar. 2024
At the gym, Rodz helped McCallany perfect everything from Fritz’s menacing glower to that signature Iron Claw.
—Devan Coggan, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for glower 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'glower.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near glower
Cite this Entry
“Glower.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glower. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
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