frown

v., frowned, frown·ing, frowns.

v.intr.

1. To wrinkle the brow, as in thought or displeasure.
2. To regard something with disapproval or distaste: frowned on the use of so much salt in the food.

v.tr.
To express (disapproval, for example) by wrinkling the brow.

n.
A wrinkling of the brow in thought or displeasure; a scowl.

[Middle English frounen, from Old French froigner, to turn up one's nose, from frogne, grimace, of Celtic origin.]

frowner frown'er n.
frowningly frown'ing·ly adv.

SYNONYMS   frown, glower, lower, scowl. These verbs mean to contract the brows in displeasure: frowns when he is annoyed; glowered upon being interrupted; lowering at the noisy child; scowled at my suggestion.

Produced primarily by the action of the corrugator muscle, which lowers the brows and pulls them together. In adolescents and adults, a vertical wrinkle often appears on the brow, and there may also be a horizontal wrinkle across the bridge of the nose.

Charles Darwin in his book The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals called the corrugator the ‘muscle of difficulty’. Darwin was quite correct: frowning occurs with many kinds of difficulty, mental or physical. People who lift something very heavy will frown when doing so, as will people who are having a difficult time remembering something or figuring out the answer to a difficult mental task. Frowning is shown during concentration, perplexity, and determination to accomplish a difficult task. Darwin noted that lowering the brow provides a natural sunshade, and indeed people do frown when they are in bright sunlight without sunglasses.

When people frown, they are often perceived by others to be feeling unpleasant, resentful, or angry, although this is often not the case. This interpretation may occur because the frown is part of the anger expression, which also typically involves glaring eyes and tense lips.

— Paul Ekman

See also facial expression.

also frown on

verb

To wrinkle one's brow, as in thought, puzzlement, or displeasure: glower, lower¹, scowl. Idioms: look black. See express.

phrasal verb - frown on (or upon)

To have or express an unfavorable opinion of: deprecate, disapprove, discountenance, disesteem, disfavor, object. Idioms: hold no brief for, not go for, take a dim view of, take exception to. See like/dislike.

noun

The act of wrinkling the brow, as in thought, puzzlement, or displeasure: black look, glower, lower¹, scowl. See express.

n

Definition: scowl
Antonyms: smile

v

Definition: disapprove
Antonyms: approve, condone, encourage

v

Definition: scowl
Antonyms: grin, smile

---

IN BRIEF: To wrinkle the brow, as in thought or displeasure.

He frowned at the prospect of having to do homework before playing baseball.

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - rynke panden, skule
v. tr. - skule til, se vredt på
n. - panderynken, vredt blik

idioms:

• frown on    ikke se med blide øjne på
• frown upon    rynke panden over

Nederlands (Dutch)
frons, afkeurende blik, fronsen, afkeurend aanzien, er somber uitzien

Français (French)
v. intr. - froncer les sourcils, désapprouver, se renfrogner
v. tr. - froncer les sourcils, désapprouver
n. - froncement de sourcils

idioms:

• frown on    désapprouver
• frown upon    désapprouver

Deutsch (German)
n. - Stirnrunzeln
v. - die Stirn runzeln

idioms:

• frown on    mit Mißbilligung betrachten
• frown upon    mit Mißbilligung betrachten

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - συνοφρύωση, κατσούφιασμα, αγριοκοίταγμα, συνοφρύωμα
v. - συνοφρυώνομαι, σκυθρωπιάζω, κατσουφιάζω

idioms:

• frown on    αποδοκιμάζω
• frown upon    αποδοκιμάζω

Italiano (Italian)
aggrottare le ciglia, corrugare la fronte

idioms:

• frown on/upon    disapprovare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - cara (f) fechada (expressão no rosto)
v. - fechar a cara

idioms:

• frown on/upon    desaprovar

Русский (Russian)
хмурый взгляд

idioms:

• frown on/upon    хмуриться на, неодобрительно относиться

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - fruncir el ceño o el entrecejo, arrugar la frente
v. tr. - fruncir el ceño o el entrecejo, arrugar la frente
n. - ceño, entrecejo

idioms:

• frown on    desaprobar
• frown upon    desaprobar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - rynkad panna, bister uppsyn
v. - rynka pannan, tinga genom bister uppsyn

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
皱眉, 不赞成, 蹙额, 皱眉表示, 不悦之色

idioms:

• frown on    蹙额眉表不赞成
• frown upon    蹙眉表不悦之色, 表示不赞成

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 皺眉, 不贊成, 蹙額
v. tr. - 皺眉表示
n. - 皺眉, 蹙額, 不悅之色

idioms:

• frown on    蹙額眉表不贊成
• frown upon    蹙眉表不悅之色, 表示不贊成

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 눈살을 찌푸리다
v. tr. - 눈살을 찌푸리고 표명하다
n. - 언짢은 표정, 찡그린 얼굴

idioms:

• frown on    반대의, ~의 뜻을 나타내다
• frown upon    반대의 뜻을 나타내다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - まゆをひそめる, 顔をしかめる, 難色を示す, 威圧感を与える, まゆをひそめて示す
n. - しかめっ面, 不賛成の表明

idioms:

• frown on/upon    …をにらみ付けるに反対の意をあらわす

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عبوس, لم, تجهم (فعل) يعبس , يقطب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮זעף, הקדיר המצח, קמטי-מצח, הביע אי-הסכמה‬
v. tr. - ‮קימט המצח, כיווץ הגבות, איים, הביע התנגדות‬
n. - ‮מבט זועם, קמטי-מצח, כיווץ גבות, מבט המביע מחשבה עמוקה‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.