Meaning & use
furrowing brows
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Pulling the eyebrows together and wrinkling the forehead, usually because of worry, confusion, or deep thought.
Grammar: Used like a verb phrase; it takes a possessive word before 'brows': furrowing his brows, furrowing her brows.
Patterns
- furrowing your brows
- furrowing his/her brows at someone
- sit/stand furrowing your brows
She kept furrowing her brows as she read the confusing instructions.
He was furrowing his brows at the bill, trying to work out what he had been charged for.
Furrowing your brows too often can give you a headache.
phraseidiomfigurative
Showing that you are worried, puzzled, or thinking hard, through the expression on your face.
Grammar: Often used with 'without' or 'with': with furrowed brows, without furrowing a brow.
Patterns
- with furrowed brows
- without furrowing a brow
- a furrowed brow
The whole committee listened with furrowed brows as the numbers were read out.
She solved the puzzle without furrowing a brow, while the rest of us struggled.
His furrowed brow told me the news was not good.
Word forms
| base form | furrow your brows |
|---|---|
| third person singular | furrows your brows |
| past tense | furrowed your brows |
| past participle | furrowed your brows |
| -ing form | furrowing your brows |
Common combinations
- furrow your brow
- He furrowed his brow and stared at the map.
- with a furrowed brow
- She answered with a furrowed brow, unsure of herself.
- without furrowing a brow
- He took the criticism without furrowing a brow.
- brows knitted together
- His brows were knitted together in concentration.
Synonyms and how they differ
- frown
- A frown is the whole facial expression of displeasure; furrowing your brows focuses on the forehead movement that often goes with it.
- scowl
- A scowl is angrier and more obvious than furrowing your brows, which can also show simple concentration.
- knit your brows
- Very close in meaning, but 'knit' is more often used in writing and sounds slightly more literary.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: furrowing brows or frowning?
furrowing brows vs frowning
Frowning means the corners of the mouth turn down to show displeasure; furrowing your brows is about the forehead and can simply mean you are thinking hard.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase normally takes a possessive word before 'brows' — 'furrowing her brows'. Option A misses the possessive, option C changes the meaning completely, and option D uses the wrong preposition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “furrowing brows”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.