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frown

[froun]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used without object)

to contract the brow, as in displeasure or deep thought; scowl.

to look displeased; have an angry look.

to view with disapproval; look disapprovingly (usually followed by on or upon): to frown upon a scheme.

verb (used with object)

to express by a frown: to frown one's displeasure.

to force or shame with a disapproving frown: to frown someone into silence.

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Frown is one of our favorite verbs.

So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:

to bark; yelp.

to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.

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noun

a frowning look; scowl.

any expression or show of disapproval: a tax bill that received Congressional frowns.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English frounen < Old French froignier, derivative of froigne surly expression, probably < Gaulish *frognā; compare Welsh ffroen, Old Breton fron nostril, Old Irish srón nose < Celtic *srognā or *sroknā

Related forms

frown·er, noun

frown·ing·ly, adverb

half-frown·ing, adjective

half-frown·ing·ly, adverb

un·frown·ing, adjective

Synonyms
1. glower, lower, gloom.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To frown

Example Sentences

Here's the lovely moment, with frown in the lower left.

Finally the needs of those who find themselves academically challenged, finacially, and socially frown upon are getting help.

His smile seems to hurt him, and for much of the time his chunky, handsome visage is clouded with a frown.

EXPAND

Here's the lovely moment, with frown in the lower left.

Finally the needs of those who find themselves academically challenged, finacially, and socially frown upon are getting help.

His smile seems to hurt him, and for much of the time his chunky, handsome visage is clouded with a frown.

They frown against discipline, they don't say it to me directly, but they make comments about her being tortured again.

Meanwhile, thousands of adults are botoxing the nerves that allow them to frown.

The receptionists tend to frown on noise and loitering, though, so carefully make your way to the maternity waiting room.

The treatment decreases the ability to frown or squint and may cause the corners of the mouth to turn down.

Many grantmakers frown upon multiple submissions and require that they be disclosed.

In the feudal culture of the party, a mere smile or frown from her matters.

So the next time you find yourself sympathizing with someone who looks sad, thank the part of your brain that feels you frown.

The wide-angle lenses would record every twitch, every blink, every frown.

Some companies frown upon their top executives getting too entrenched in politics.

Some of my peers may frown on this, but my research and teaching haven't suffered.

He is said to frown on torture as a method of interrogation.

Happy music made happy faces seem even happier while sad music exaggerated the melancholy of a frown.

Other countries frown on open displays of affection, or propping your feet up on furniture.

Deceased had been for some months in an insane state of mind, arising frown domestic afilictions and some recent pecuniary losses.

Freelancers do this all the time, and it's about time that academia not frown on this practice.

The fashion in corporate-governance circles is to frown on such reciprocal relationships.

Some are sure to cause frequent fliers to smile, while others may elicit a frown.

Over time, mostly by word of mouth, it became popular as a treatment for frown lines and wrinkles.

Someone doing something dirty, decent folks can frown on.

Moreover, the modern trend is to frown on letting villainy go unpunished.

On one hand, believers in the standards movement frown on social promotion and emphasize measurable performance in high school.

The best way to get the goat of an angry person is to give them a smile when they expect a frown.

But whether they ought to greeted with a smile or frown depends on the nature of decline.

But they frown on smoking and alcoholic beverages as they do on military service.

More often, despite episodic spasms of rage, the broader culture has worn a smile rather than a frown.

Economists generally frown on taxing financial transactions because that gums up markets.

Banking regulators frown on this behaviour, as it is often used to disguise bad loans.

Maybe they are trying to cheer up the markets by painting on a frown.

Revita-Yoga combines yoga and facial exercises and is billed as a way to combat frown lines, wrinkles and sagging.

Whatever the reason, many graduates of distance-learning programs must contend with academics who frown on their degrees:.

Facial expression predicted divorce even when the smile or frown was on a ten-year-old's face.

If you ask a district for it when it isn't posted, they generally frown upon that, and it could hurt you in getting an interview.

They frown on monocultures and chemical fertilisers.

He rushed to the starting point with a frown on his face and waited only an instant before he was off on his approach run.

They frown on professors who hold their students to high standards even as they pay lip service to concern over grade inflation.

The curious engineer wants to improvise to solve problems, something a test pilot would frown upon.

His long, angular face will be taut, fixed in a frown of concentration and lined with marks from his racing helmet and balaclava.

Jackson's insanity made the defendant frown and wince.

Matthau was a tall man with a perpetual slouch and a perpetual frown.

Listeners living in small apartments where space is limited might frown on this development.

At first she has an unvarying frown that simply makes the princess look as if she has a constant headache.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

frown (fraʊn)

—vb (often foll by down)
1.	(intr) to draw the brows together and wrinkle the forehead, esp in worry, anger, or concentration
2.	(intr; foll by on or upon) to have a dislike (of); look disapprovingly (upon): the club frowned upon political activity by its members
3.	(tr) to express (worry, etc) by frowning
4.	to force, silence, etc, by a frowning look

—n
5.	the act of frowning
6.	a show of dislike or displeasure

[C14: from Old French froigner, of Celtic origin; compare Welsh ffroen nostril, Middle Breton froan]

'frowner

—n

'frowningly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

frown

late 14c., from O.Fr. froignier "to frown or scowl, snort," related to frongne "scowling look," probably from Gaulish *frogna "nostril" (cf. Welsh ffroen "nose"), with a sense of "snort," or perhaps "haughty grimace." Related: Frowned; frowning. The noun is from 1580s.

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Related Words

lower gloom discourage evident glout

glout outfrown peevish smile

Matching Quote

"There are days when the great are near us, when there is no frown on their brow, no condescension even; when they take us by the hand, and we share their thought."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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