FROWN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does frown mean? 

• FROWN (noun)
  The noun FROWN has 1 sense:

1. a facial expression of dislike or displeasure

  Familiarity information: FROWN used as a noun is very rare.

• FROWN (verb)
  The verb FROWN has 1 sense:

1. look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval

  Familiarity information: FROWN used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FROWN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A facial expression of dislike or displeasure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

frown; scowl

Hypernyms ("frown" is a kind of...):

facial expression; facial gesture (a gesture executed with the facial muscles)

Derivation:

frown (look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval)

• FROWN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they frown    ... he / she / it frowns   
Past simple: frowned   
Past participle: frowned   
-ing form: frowning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

frown; glower; lour; lower

Hypernyms (to "frown" is one way to...):

grimace; make a face; pull a face (contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "frown"):

scowl (frown with displeasure)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

frown (a facial expression of dislike or displeasure)

 Context examples 

Then changing from a frown to a smile—“No, do not tell me—I do not want to know what you mean.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

I thought this sentiment so incompatible with the establishment of any system of check on Mary Anne, that I frowned a little.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He skirted the frowning shores on rim ice that bent and crackled under foot and upon which they dared not halt.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Then the mountains seemed to come nearer to us on each side and to frown down upon us; we were entering on the Borgo Pass.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Sir Nigel's trust, however, still frowned above the smooth-flowing waters of the Avon, very much as the stern race of early Anglo-Normans had designed it.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

First he recognized the doctor with an unmistakable frown; then his glance fell upon me, and he looked relieved.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

I frowned and drew my hand away.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His beard was white with his frozen breath when the perplexed and frowning brows relaxed and decision came into his face.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I saw Mr. Lloyd smile and frown at the same time.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)