Meaning & use
eyebrow furrow
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Meanings
nouncountable
A deep line or crease between or above the eyebrows, often made by frowning or showing worry.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an eyebrow furrow' or 'eyebrow furrows'.
Patterns
- have an eyebrow furrow
- a deep eyebrow furrow
- eyebrow furrows form
She read the letter slowly, a deep eyebrow furrow appearing above her nose.
Years of frowning had left him with permanent eyebrow furrows.
The doctor asked him to relax his face, but the eyebrow furrow stayed.
nouncountable
The act of pulling the eyebrows together and down, usually showing anger, confusion, or concentration.
Grammar: Often used with 'with': 'with an eyebrow furrow'.
Patterns
- with an eyebrow furrow
- an eyebrow furrow of concentration
He answered with an eyebrow furrow, clearly puzzled by the question.
Her eyebrow furrow told me she did not believe a word of it.
Word forms
| plural | eyebrow furrows |
|---|
Common combinations
- a deep eyebrow furrow
- A deep eyebrow furrow crossed his forehead as he did the math.
- a slight eyebrow furrow
- There was only a slight eyebrow furrow, so I knew she was only mildly annoyed.
- form an eyebrow furrow
- Babies can form an eyebrow furrow long before they can speak.
- smooth out an eyebrow furrow
- She tried to smooth out the eyebrow furrow before answering the door.
- with an eyebrow furrow
- He listened with an eyebrow furrow, taking notes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- frown
- A frown is the whole facial expression and is far more common; an eyebrow furrow names only the lines or movement of the brow.
- scowl
- A scowl is an angry, threatening expression of the whole face, stronger than a neutral eyebrow furrow.
- crease
- A crease is any line in skin or cloth; use it when you mean the mark itself rather than the movement.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: eyebrow furrow or wrinkle? eyebrow furrow or eyelash?
eyebrow furrow vs wrinkle
A wrinkle is any small line or fold in skin or fabric; an eyebrow furrow is specifically the crease between or above the eyebrows.
eyebrow furrow vs eyelash
An eyelash is a hair on the eyelid, a completely different part of the face.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'He gave a deep eyebrow furrow' fits because a furrow is a facial movement or line, and 'gave' works with expressions. Option 0 fails because a furrow is not warm or welcoming, option 2 confuses it with fur, and option 3 uses it as a verb meaning 'to fold', which is not correct.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “eyebrow furrow”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.