Meaning & use
scowl face
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Meanings
nouncountable
An angry or unhappy expression with a deep frown and lowered eyebrows.
Grammar: Informal compound; usually a scowl face.
Patterns
- make a scowl face
- have a scowl face
He gave me a scowl face when I mentioned the bill.
The toddler made a scowl face and crossed his arms.
Her scowl face softened when she saw the puppy.
nouncountable
An emoji or picture of a face with a frown and lowered brows showing anger.
Grammar: Used about digital icons: send a scowl face.
Patterns
- send a scowl face
- a scowl face emoji
She replied with a scowl face emoji.
He added a scowl face to show he was annoyed.
The chat filled up with scowl faces after the announcement.
Word forms
| plural | scowl faces |
|---|
Common combinations
- make a scowl face
- The boy made a scowl face at his vegetables.
- a scowl face emoji
- A scowl face emoji appeared under the post.
- a permanent scowl face
- The guard had a permanent scowl face.
- give someone a scowl face
- She gave her brother a scowl face across the table.
- a deep scowl face
- He wore a deep scowl face all through the meeting.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scowl
- Scowl alone is the standard word and sounds more natural than scowl face.
- frown
- Frown is milder and can show worry or thought as well as anger.
- glare
- Glare focuses on a hard stare at someone, not on the shape of the face.
- grimace
- Grimace is a twisted face showing pain or disgust, rather than anger.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: scowl face or scowl?
scowl face vs scowl
Scowl already means the angry expression, so scowl face is a casual extra.
Practice
When I told him the plan changed, he gave me a ___ and walked away.
Choose one answer.
A scowl face shows anger or displeasure, which matches walking away after bad news. A smile or chuckle would suggest the opposite mood.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “scowl face”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.