frown
verb/fraʊn/
/fraʊn/
[intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they frown | /fraʊn/ /fraʊn/ |
| he / she / it frowns | /fraʊnz/ /fraʊnz/ |
| past simple frowned | /fraʊnd/ /fraʊnd/ |
| past participle frowned | /fraʊnd/ /fraʊnd/ |
| -ing form frowning | /ˈfraʊnɪŋ/ /ˈfraʊnɪŋ/ |
- to make a serious, angry or worried expression by bringing your eyebrows closer together so that lines appear on your forehead
- frown (at somebody/something) What are you frowning at me for?
- She frowned with concentration.
- + speech ‘I don't understand,’ she frowned.
Extra ExamplesTopics Appearancec1- He frowned with annoyance.
- He looked at the coded message, frowning in concentration.
- She studied the letter, frowning thoughtfully.
- By then the customer was frowning impatiently.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- darkly
- deeply
- heavily
- …
- at
- in
- with
- …
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French froignier, from froigne ‘surly look’, of Celtic origin.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
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frown