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Definition of frown verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

frown

verb
 
/fraʊn/
 
/fraʊn/
[intransitive, transitive]
Verb Forms
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/
Phrasal Verbs
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  1. 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 Examples
    • 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.
    Topics Appearancec1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • darkly
    • deeply
    • heavily
    preposition
    • at
    • in
    • with
    See full entry
    Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French froignier, from froigne ‘surly look’, of Celtic origin.
See frown in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
generic
adjective
 
 
From the Word list
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C1
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