Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Scowl |
ScowlNoun1. A facial expression of dislike or displeasure. Verb1. Frown with displeasure. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "scowl" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
Synonym: ScowlSynonym: frown (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Disapprobation | Reprehension, remonstrance, expostulation, reproof, reprobation, admonition, increpation, reproach; rebuke, reprimand, castigation, jobation, lecture, curtain lecture, blow up, wigging, dressing, rating, scolding, trimming; correction, set down, rap on the knuckles, coup de bec, rebuff; slap, slap on the face; home thrust, hit; frown, scowl, black look. |
Discourtesy | Scowl, black looks, frown; short answer, rebuff; hard words, contumely; unparliamentary language, personality. |
Lose one's temper; (resentment); sulk; la; frown, scowl, glower, pout; snap, snarl, growl. | |
Hell | Phrase: dies irae dies illa; "the hue of dungeons and the scowl of night". |
Lamentation | Frown, scowl, make a wry face, gnash one's teeth, wring one's hands, tear one's hair, beat one's breast, roll on the ground, burst with grief. |
Cry; (vociferation); scream, howl; outcry, wail of woe, ululation; frown, scowl. | |
Resentment | Scowl; sulks; a. |
Pout, knit the brow, frown, scowl, lower, snarl, growl, gnarl, gnash, snap; redden, color; look black, look black as thunder, look daggers; bite one's thumb; show one's teeth, grind one's teeth; champ the bit, champ at the bit. | |
Sullenness | Verb: be sullen; Adjective: sulk; frown, scowl, lower, glower, gloam, pout, have a hangdog look, glout. |
Ill temper, bad temper, ill humor, bad humor; sulks, dudgeon, mumps, dumps, doldrums, fit of the sulks, bouderie, black looks, scowl; grouch; huff; (resentment). | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Scowl |
| English words defined with "scowl": Scowled ♦ To look black. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "scowl": INFALAPSARIAN. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Where's the crabby scowl, the morbid gloom? (Angel; writing credit: Letcia Dornelles) You can always tell when he's happy, his scowl is a little less scowly (Angel; writing credit: Letcia Dornelles) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
George Eliot | Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles. What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other? |
Lord Alfred Tennyson | A smile abroad is often a scowl at home. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | His heavy sunburned eyebrows were drawn down in a scowl. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | INFALAPSARIAN, n. One who ventures to believe that Adam need not have sinned unless he had a mind to -- in opposition to the Supralapsarians, who hold that that luckless person's fall was decreed from the beginning. Infralapsarians are sometimes called Sublapsarians without material effect upon the importance and lucidity of their views about Adam. Two theologues once, as they wended their way To chapel, engaged in colloquial fray -- An earnest logomachy, bitter as gall, Concerning poor Adam and what made him fall. "'Twas Predestination," cried one -- "for the Lord Decreed he should fall of his own accord." "Not so -- 'twas Free will," the other maintained, "Which led him to choose what the Lord had ordained." So fierce and so fiery grew the debate That nothing but bloodshed their dudgeon could sate; So off flew their cassocks and caps to the ground And, moved by the spirit, their hands went round. Ere either had proved his theology right By winning, or even beginning, the fight, A gray old professor of Latin came by, A staff in his hand and a scowl in his eye, And learning the cause of their quarrel (for still As they clumsily sparred they disputed with skill Of foreordination freedom of will) Cried: "Sirrahs! this reasonless warfare compose: Atwixt ye's no difference worthy of blows. The sects ye belong to -- I'm ready to swear Ye wrongly interpret the names that they bear. You -- Infralapsarian son of a clown! -- Should only contend that Adam slipped down; While you -- you Supralapsarian pup! -- Should nothing aver but that Adam slipped up. It's all the same whether up or down You slip on a peel of banana brown. Even Adam analyzed not his blunder, But thought he had slipped on a peal of thunder! G.J. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Scowl" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 84.96% of the time. "Scowl" is used about 133 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 84.96% | 113 | 30,464 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 12.03% | 16 | 87,710 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 3.01% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Total | 100.00% | 133 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "scowl": scowl an answer ♦ scowl at ♦ scowl at smb. ♦ scowl down ♦ scowl one's dissatisfaction ♦ scowl upon. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "scowl": anti-scowl. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
scowl | 6 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "scowl"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | ngrysje (darkening, gloaming), ngrys (darken, pass). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | كفهر (darken, frown, grow dark), كشر (grimace, grin, mow, mug, pull a face, sniff), قطب (frown, pole, pout, swivel), تقطيب, تجهم (feel grim, grumpiness, lour, pout, pull a face, purse up), عبوس (fretful, frown, infelicitous, sad, splenetic, sternum), عبس (darken, frown, gloom, grow dark, lour, sulk). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | гледам навъсено, намръщено изражение, намръщен поглед, мръщя се (frown, glower, knit one's brows, knit the brows, lower, pucker, sulk), мръщене. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 皺眉 , 皱眉 (frown, Frowned, frowning). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | mraèit se (frown, glower, lour). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | ترشروءی (Lower, Sulk), اخم کردن (Glower, Lower, Pout), اخم (Glower, Sulk), ابرودرهم کشی . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | katsoa kulmainsa alta (frown). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | se renfrogner, mine renfrognée, jeter un regard mauvais, froncer les sourcils, faire la moue, faire la grimace, air de mauvaise humeur. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | finster blicken (glower, lour, to glower, to scowl). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | κατσούφιασμα (sulkiness), συνοφρύωση (frown), συνοφρύουμαι (frown, lour), βλοσυρό ύφοσ, μικρή ποσότησ (lour, paucity, touch). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | מבט כועס (black looks, frown, glare), ל"זעיף פ ים. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | morcosan néz, mogorva tekintet, összeráncolt homlok. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | pandangan marah. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | sguardo torvo (glower), sguardo minaccioso, guardare in malo modo, cipiglio (frown, lour), accigliarsi (lour). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 苦る (to feel bitter, to scowl), 顰め面 (a frown or scowl), 顰める (to frown, to grimace, to knit the brows, to raise eyebrows, to scowl), 睨めつける (to glare or scowl at), 睨め付ける (to glare or scowl at), 睨む (to glare at, to keep an eye on, to scowl at). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | しかめつら (a frown or scowl), しかめる (to frown, to grimace, to knit the brows, to raise eyebrows, to scowl), ねめつける (to glare or scowl at), ひそめる (to conceal, to frown, to grimace, to hide, to knit the brows, to raise eyebrows, to scowl), にがる (to feel bitter, to scowl), にらむ (to glare at, to keep an eye on, to scowl at). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 오만상. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | smull (huff, sulk, tarnish), scryss (grin, growl, growler, ill-natured person, paring, peel, rind, scraping, shaving), grouigey (frown, scowling), grouig (frown). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | owlscay obscurecer-se, franzir as sobrancelhas (contract, frown, knit one's brows, lower), carranca (frown, gargoyle). (various references) se uita mânios, se întuneca (cloud up, darken, darkle, dull, get dark, glower, grow dark, lour), se încrunta (frown, glower, lour), privire posomorâtã, ameninţa (bludgeon, bluster, denunciate, impend, launch a threat, menace, overhang, Ratten, threaten), aer ameninţãtor, încrunta (knit). (various references) хмуриться (darkle, frown, look black). (various references) mrko gledati, mrk pogled. (various references) ceño (frown, gird). (various references) se bister ut (lour, lower), bister uppsyn (frown). (various references) sinirli bakmak, sert sert bakmak (glare at), sert bakış (basilisk look), kaş çatmak, kaş çatma (frowning, knitting the eyebrow). (various references) сердитий погляд (glower), хмуритися (lour), похмурий вигляд, дивитися сердито. (various references) sự quắc mắt, sự cau có giận dữ vẻ cau có đe doạ. (various references) gwgu (frown, lower), gwg (frown, wrath), cuwch (frown), cuchio (frown), cilwg (frown), cibo (frown). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "scowl": scowled, scowler, scowlers, scowling, scowlingly, scowls. (additional references) | |
| |
"Scowl" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: escow, scawl, sccow, scoel, Scoil, scol, scola, scoll, scoul, scouw, scowld, scowly, Scuole, scwol, showl, skoal, skol, sowle, stowl. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "scowl" (pronounced skou"l) |
| 3 | -k ou" l | cowl. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: cowls. | |
| Words within the letters "c-l-o-s-w" | |
-1 letter: cols, cowl, cows, lows, owls, scow, slow. | |
-2 letters: col, cos, cow, low, owl, sol, sow, wos. | |
-3 letters: lo, os, ow, so, wo. | |
| Words containing the letters "c-l-o-s-w" | |
+1 letter: clowns, scowls. | |
+2 letters: cowslip, salchow, scowled, scowler. | |
+3 letters: beclowns, clowders, clownish, coleslaw, cowbells, cowflaps, cowflops, cowgirls, cowlicks, cowlings, cowplops, cowslips, lockjaws, rowlocks, salchows, scofflaw, scowlers, scowling, warlocks, wedlocks, welcomes, woolsack. | |
+4 letters: backflows, blowbacks, callowest, clamworms, clockwise, closedown, cogwheels, coleslaws, coleworts, cooldowns, cowlstaff, crosswalk, crownless, downscale, lacewoods, laceworks, lockdowns, locoweeds, lowercase, outcrawls, plowbacks, scofflaws, showplace, washcloth, welcomers, wholistic, woolpacks, woolsacks, wristlock. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Quotations: Familiar 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Usage Frequency 11. Expressions 12. Expressions: Internet | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Derivations 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
