frown
Americanverb (used without object)
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frowns,
present (3rd person singular)
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frowned,
past participle, past
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frowning
present participle
verb (used with object)
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frowns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
frowned,
past participle, past
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frowning
present participle
-
to express by a frown.
to frown one's displeasure.
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to force or shame with a disapproving frown.
to frown someone into silence.
noun
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frowns
plural
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a frowning look; scowl.
-
any expression or show of disapproval.
a tax bill that received Congressional frowns.
verb
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(intr) to draw the brows together and wrinkle the forehead, esp in worry, anger, or concentration
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to have a dislike (of); look disapprovingly (upon)
the club frowned upon political activity by its members
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(tr) to express (worry, etc) by frowning
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to force, silence, etc, by a frowning look
noun
-
the act of frowning
-
a show of dislike or displeasure
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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frownsimple
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frownssimple
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have frownedperfect
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has frownedperfect
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am frowningprogressive
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are frowningprogressive
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is frowningprogressive
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have been frowningperfect progressive
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has been frowningperfect progressive
Past
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frownedsimple
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had frownedperfect
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was frowningprogressive
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were frowningprogressive
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had been frowningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of frown
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
Explanation
If you frown at someone, you look at them with disapproval, and if you frown on something they do, you don't approve of that either. Because you frown on smoking, you probably frown at smokers too! The distant ancestors of frown, the ones that came long before Old French, meant "nose." Think about the expression, to look down one's nose at someone or something, which means "to disapprove of." If you have a frown on your face, you definitely don't like what you see! Sometimes when you're thinking hard about something, you might frown, but that is probably more of an expression of concentration than disapproval.
Vocabulary lists containing frown
"Thank You, M'am"
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Chiasmus from Top AP English Exam Novels
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"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare, Act V
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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:
Tjjze warps the equivalent of the face into the equivalent of a frown as more data are revealed.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Sharing Isn’t Caring: Even though AI companies frown on chatbot password sharing, people still do it, leading to embarrassing discoveries, personal data mix-ups and even cybersecurity issues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Making "Year of the Horse" stuffed toys in a workshop, an employee accidentally stitched the festive foal's mouth on upside-down -- turning its cheerful expression into a gloomy frown.
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026
Even if you want to cry when you walk in the door, turn that frown upside down and greet your host with a warm hug and a smile.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 17, 2026
Fina nods as I talk, and Ruby’s frown grows deeper and deeper until she wears a panicked look, like I’ve just told her that I’m dying.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Dogs are exceptionally skilled at reading human emotions, from smiles and laughter to frowns and tears.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Peet has wrinkles on her face, her forehead moves, and when she frowns, she frowns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
But when the Dodgers emailed their roughly 55 tour guides Wednesday to say they were getting the pay raise they sought during a failed attempt to unionize, there must have been more smiles than frowns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
At the food bank, Grahame Lucas said he worked to "turn frowns upside down".
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2025
Victor frowns suddenly while Lorena nods in agreement.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
They dress up, braid their hair in a special way and are free to dance and play together outside, something which is traditionally frowned upon at other times of the year.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Henderson said he only realized the solicitation he’d been asked to do might be frowned upon after Orchid told him as much at their meal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
In the past, administrators "frowned upon trade schools, they wanted to steer everybody to go to college."
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
In a country where corruption is rife but ostentatious displays of wealth are frowned upon, Zanjani attracted ire among many.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
I frowned at him, but Lizzie didn’t seem to mind at all.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Balogun then looked over at a frowning Ream, who had just finished urging his teammates to be sure to stop and smell the flowers along this World Cup journey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
In the troika of major figures in the Russian Revolution, Trotsky stood for ideas and Stalin represented power; their predecessor, Vladimir Lenin, had fused the two values as the frowning avatar of communist leadership.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
She grinned as she explained that some sculptures of famed Buddhist monk Ji Gong even showed him smiling on one side of his face and frowning on the other.
From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026
The image depicts a frowning Churchill, who was 67 at the time, shortly after he delivered a speech to the Canadian parliament.
From BBC ● May 26, 2025
When I looked over at Ty'ree, he was frowning down at the floor.
From "Miracle's Boys" by Jacqueline Woodson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
