scowl

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /skaʊl/ UK /skaʊl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an angry or bad-tempered expression, typically involving a frown or grimace

He responded to the criticism with a deep scowl.
2

verb
to frown in an angry or bad-tempered way

She scowled at the noisy children.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an angry or bad-tempered... frown glare glower grimacedirty look

2 verb · to frown in an angry or... glare glower grimace frown

Opposites

smile beam grin

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

furious scowl
An intensely angry facial expression with tightened or lowered eyebrows.

Adjective + noun

Etymology

scowl (Early Modern English, 'to frown or look angry'); from Old Norse _skūla_ ('to look sullen; to scowl'), via Middle English _scoulen_ ('to frown or look sullen').

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# scowl

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /skaʊl/
**IPA (UK):** /skaʊl/

## Meanings
1. an angry or bad-tempered expression, typically involving a frown or grimace
2. to frown in an angry or bad-tempered way

## Examples
- He responded to the criticism with a deep scowl.
- She scowled at the noisy children.

## Synonyms
- frown
- glare
- glower
- grimace
- dirty look

## Antonyms
- smile
- beam
- grin

## Etymology
scowl (Early Modern English, 'to frown or look angry'); from Old Norse _skūla_ ('to look sullen; to scowl'), via Middle English _scoulen_ ('to frown or look sullen').

## AI Etymology
Scowl is a Early Modern English word meaning 'to frown or look angry', from Old Norse skūla ('to look sullen; to scowl'), via Middle English scoulen ('to frown or look sullen'). In current use it is a noun and verb meaning "an angry or bad-tempered expression, typically involving a frown or grimace". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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