Meaning & use
furrowed her eyebrows
Last updated
“furrowed her eyebrows” is a form of “furrow”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Moved the eyebrows together and downward, making lines appear on the forehead, usually because of worry, confusion, or deep thought.
Grammar: Takes a possessive or an article before the body part: furrowed her eyebrows, furrowed his brow. The subject is a person; the object is the eyebrows or brow.
Patterns
- furrow one's eyebrows
- furrow one's brow
- eyebrows furrowed in concentration
She furrowed her eyebrows when she read the strange email.
He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember where he had seen her before.
The teacher furrowed her eyebrows at the noisy class.
verbtransitive
Made deep lines or folds appear in something, especially on skin or fabric.
Grammar: Often used about the forehead or face, or about cloth that wrinkles. Can be passive: his forehead was furrowed with lines.
Patterns
- furrow one's forehead
- be furrowed with lines
- furrow the surface of something
Years of worry had furrowed his forehead.
The old curtain was furrowed with deep folds.
Sun and wind had furrowed the farmer's face.
Word forms
| third person singular | furrows |
|---|---|
| past tense | furrowed |
| past participle | furrowed |
| -ing form | furrowing |
Common combinations
- furrow one's brow
- She furrowed her brow in confusion.
- eyebrows furrowed in concentration
- His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he solved the puzzle.
- furrow one's forehead
- He furrowed his forehead when he heard the bad news.
- deeply furrowed
- Her face was deeply furrowed with age.
Synonyms and how they differ
- knit
- Knit your brows means the same as furrow your brows, but it is slightly more literary and often used in writing.
- wrinkle
- Wrinkle is more general and can describe any lines on skin or cloth; furrow suggests deeper, more deliberate lines, often from emotion.
- scrunch up
- Scrunch up is more informal and can describe tightening the whole face, not just the eyebrows.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: furrowed her eyebrows or farrow?
furrowed her eyebrows vs farrow
Farrow means a litter of pigs or to give birth to pigs; it sounds similar but has a completely different meaning.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
The verb 'furrow' takes a direct object (her eyebrows) without a preposition. The other options add unnecessary prepositions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “furrowed her eyebrows”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.