scowl
Americanverb (used without object)
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scowls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scowled,
past participle, past
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scowling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
scowls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scowled,
past participle, past
-
scowling
present participle
noun
-
scowls
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scowlsimple
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scowlssimple
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have scowledperfect
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has scowledperfect
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am scowlingprogressive
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are scowlingprogressive
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is scowlingprogressive
-
have been scowlingperfect progressive
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has been scowlingperfect progressive
Past
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scowledsimple
-
had scowledperfect
-
was scowlingprogressive
-
were scowlingprogressive
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had been scowlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scowl
1300–50; Middle English scoulen (v.); perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Danish skule to scowl, Norwegian skule to look furtively, though these may be < Low German schūlen to spy
Explanation
When you scowl you make an angry face. The angry face you make is also called a scowl. Lighten up. Scowl is an expressive word: it shares "ow" with frown, and if you say it like you mean it you might end up scowling yourself. Being scowled at is more unsettling than being frowned at. A scowl is like an angry frown you would give someone if you disapproved of them. A frown expresses sadness, but a scowl expresses disdain.
Vocabulary lists containing scowl
The Lingo of Body Language
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"The Ravine," Vocabulary from the short story
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
We were shortly joined by her brother, who kept a scowl on his face as we spoke.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
But it was his grittiest—and that’s all Indiana needed for its famously stony coach to drop the scowl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
His waxen face was frozen in a perpetual scowl.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024
CNN reported that, as Daniels spoke, Trump was "looking straight ahead with a scowl on his face."
From Salon ● May 7, 2024
He was doing his best to scowl, but his eyes gleamed as if maybe, just maybe, he was happy to see them.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
You can see it in the embrace of Lynn’s reactionary “Death Wish”-style narrative, but also in Brian’s Eastwoodian scowls at his trash-strewn block, representative of an America that’s clearly gone to seed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2023
Gone are the decades of scowls, railing against officials, getting in the face of players, snapping at reporters.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 7, 2023
And when he’s not forcing a smile, he reflexively scowls.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
When Colin congratulates Isaac on his shot, the latter merely scowls back.
From New York Times ● May 10, 2023
He scowls, like he’s seeing something he’s never seen before.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
But if fans expect to see the tough guy in the black wrestling trunks, black leather vest with a scowled face while he’s learning new jobs, they might be disappointed.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
Most Chileans knew her as the “gray, ugly, boring old lady,” who scowled at them from the bank note, said Maria Elena Wood, a filmmaker who made a documentary about Mistral in 2011.
From New York Times ● Jan. 28, 2023
In the crowd, John Ward folded his arms across his chest and scowled.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 13, 2022
Against the Hawks on Friday, Monk was strictly a bucket, splashing home jumper after jumper as he scowled and flexed like he was the biggest player on the court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2022
Nergal's eyes fell on the sword, and he scowled.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
He got his start singing in a church choir at the age of five, and earned his nom de plume from a childhood photo of him scowling in a bunny costume.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
In September, Japan's Nintendo marked four decades since the release of the first "Super Mario Bros." game with its platforms, pipes and scowling enemies.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
Lately I’ve been thinking about embracing my problem and adopting the stiff, scowling 19th-century portrait position, but that pairs even worse with a beaming kid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
Whether it’s Morton’s perpetually scowling expression in the infrequent cutaways to Brian’s life back home or the on-the-nose emphasis on looming gray clouds, there’s no question a storm is coming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
He’s sitting behind his desk with his arms crossed and it looks like he’s doing scowling exercises.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
