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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of scowl
Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2024
The justice, who was appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama, has drawn scowls from gun rights activists in the past over her interpretation of the right to bear arms.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 10 July 2024
Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024
Speaking of Blake, one of our cooks Rick noticed that Blake wore the same outfit, scowled and always came in with a Monster energy drink.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for scowl 
Noun
Even Trump’s scowl in his booking photo made its way onto mugs and NFTs in his campaign store.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2024
The justice, who was appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama, has drawn scowls from gun rights activists in the past over her interpretation of the right to bear arms.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 10 July 2024
Verb
Pray for divine intervention, and don’t stop scowling.
—Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024
Speaking of Blake, one of our cooks Rick noticed that Blake wore the same outfit, scowled and always came in with a Monster energy drink.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for scowl
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scowl
Noun
-
Associated with such grimaces were very fast upward swinging movements of the arms and alternate bending and straightening of each leg such that the right foot especially would stamp against the ground.—
Caitlyn Murphy,
Hazlitt,
13 Nov. 2024
-
Muscles bulging and soaked in sweat, his face is etched in a grimace of extreme exertion.—
Sarah Shephard,
The Athletic,
7 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
For the Knicks, the game exposed a glaring weakness: poor defensive rotations that undermine their high-powered offense’s chances of competing for an NBA title.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
18 Jan. 2025
-
There are no glaring weaknesses in the team to this point.—
Jesse Granger,
The Athletic,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The old woman, though, stares at the screen, the shadow of a smile curled into her lips and a frown barely creasing her forehead.—
Matthew Bremner,
Rolling Stone,
5 Jan. 2025
-
Jean-Baptiste, her mouth set in a tight-lipped frown, her eyes ablaze with fear and loathing, soft-pedals nothing.—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
3 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The clip ended with Dwayne staring at the camera frowning.—
Escher Walcott,
People.com,
19 Jan. 2025
-
For better or worse, Summers is staring at a largely blank slate.—
Sean Keeler,
The Denver Post,
18 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near scowl
Cite this Entry
“Scowl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scowl. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share