How to Use scowl in a Sentence

scowl

1 of 2 verb
  • Ball was scowling at the screen when the phone on his table buzzed.
    — Benjamin Wofford, Vox, 25 Oct. 2018
  • Can a man scowl not just with his face but with his entire hulking frame?
    — Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2023
  • Now our favorite scowling friend is getting his own movie, too.
    — Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Granted, the skipper has flashed a couple of postgame scowls here and there.
    — Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 3 July 2019
  • The referees called a flagrant foul as the teams scowled at each other.
    — Anthony Slater, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2017
  • Those that attended mostly sat and scowled.
    — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 25 Feb. 2026
  • Who is that scowling man wearing a military uniform from days of yore?
    — Laney Ruckstuhl, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Apr. 2018
  • John the Pirate sat in the corner booth, scowling, and shed a single tear.
    — Alex Baia, The New Yorker, 9 Nov. 2019
  • Grejo sank scowling back into his chair as though stung by Adi’s answer.
    — Jonathan Miles, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
  • My sister was scowling and pacing the path outside my mother’s flat.
    — Douglas Stuart, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026
  • Leaving home without a hat, scarf, gloves, umbrella, and/or scowl.
    — Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
  • And Cignetti has coached this team up, scowling from the sidelines, all the way to the championship game.
    — Keith O’Brien, The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2026
  • How often do smiles express happiness and scowls express anger?
    — IEEE Spectrum, 27 Mar. 2020
  • This is before musical artists had to scowl in their pictures, or gaze into the distance.
    — John Kelly, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2022
  • Picture Andy Warhol scowling in the corner of the billiards room.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Here came and went a picture showing scowling white nationalists in black.
    — Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2018
  • The 2020 Padres slammed bats, scowled as baseballs cleared fences and left no doubt about the fire within.
    — Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Aug. 2023
  • From the sidelines, coal firms will scowl at efforts to curb demand in Asia and oil drillers wince at support for electric cars.
    — The Economist, 18 Apr. 2021
  • Cameras caught many Democrats sitting and scowling during these remarks.
    — Dominick Mastrangelo, Washington Examiner, 9 Feb. 2020
  • Gruff and often scowling, restaurant work has left her hands patterned with small knife cuts and her forearms spattered by ugly oil burns.
    — Washington Post, 27 June 2017
  • The man scowled, took the laptop and opened it and closed it and then tried to sit in another first class seat, Mark Basden said.
    — Michael Balsamo, The Seattle Times, 20 May 2017
  • In court, Nauta sat far down the defendants’ table from his scowling boss and could be seen at times leaning over to peer at him.
    — David Ovalle, Washington Post, 14 June 2023
  • Modern tiki tends to take a lighter touch, using more abstract graphics, less imagery of women and scowling gods.
    — Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
  • Amidst those scowling women, Sue made a wry, possibly punny comment.
    — Teresa M. Hanafin, BostonGlobe.com, 3 May 2023
  • Kiril was afraid he would be forced into a pair with Arthur, who continued scowling at his phone long after class had resumed.
    — Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2018
  • Van Pelt wasn’t the only one who noticed that Mayfield had an early Steelers scowl on.
    — cleveland, 31 Dec. 2020
  • The two young aides who accompanied her were scowling wordlessly at their smartphones nearby.
    — Robert Draper, New York Times, 1 May 2023
  • His Teddy is a skeevy, scowling hippie incel who seems to have burnt everything out of himself but the desire for vengeance.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Behar scowled at Goldberg's comment, which opened the floodgates for the remaining panelists.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Nov. 2025
  • In a small, ranch-style courtroom Tuesday, the burly former drill instructor scowled as one of his accusers, Lance Cpl.
    — Rory Laverty, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2017

scowl

2 of 2 noun
  • The teacher gave me a scowl when I walked in late.
  • She responded to his question with a scowl.
  • Her hair is no longer buzzed, and her scowl is crowned with brown curls.
    — Allison Stubblebine, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2017
  • And there’s a scowl that replaces the smile when game time arrives.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2019
  • Both sat with hands folded in their laps, a faint scowl on Cornyn’s face.
    — Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, 16 Jan. 2020
  • The country will weary of this, the dead eyes, the heavy scowl, the jutting chin.
    — Garrison Keillor, The Denver Post, 13 June 2017
  • The schoolmaster was tall and thin with a hunched back and a deep scowl on his gaunt face.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 June 2022
  • At the grocery store, some of you have been rushing around with big scowls on your faces.
    — Elaine Ayala, ExpressNews.com, 28 Nov. 2019
  • There on the outside of the glass was my wife in her slip, an angry scowl on her brow.
    — Ben Raines, AL.com, 20 Mar. 2018
  • So just sit and smile, a departure from a career built on scowl.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 8 May 2026
  • She's got a scowl on her face as Marfisee and her students approach.
    — Vanessa Romo, NPR, 14 Jan. 2026
  • Her face was a cross between a scowl and a laugh, her chuckles like rocks tumbling off a cliff.
    — Victor Wei Ke Yang, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
  • Cox, who follows a speaker known for his quick wit, has a resting face that looks like a scowl.
    — Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2018
  • Trump’s scowl was partly buried in a mass of livid, blood-red and bruise-purple brushstrokes.
    — Calvin Tomkins, The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2017
  • The fact of the joke was signaled by its grin—more of a scowl, actually.
    — David Lavie, Robb Report, 24 May 2021
  • Abdullah greeted him with a scowl, his arms folded over his chest.
    — Tim Golden, ProPublica, 23 Jan. 2020
  • Jackson is leaning on the door frame, his face wearing his trademark scowl.
    — Mary Carole McCauley, baltimoresun.com, 17 Mar. 2018
  • Dance music is meant to be fun, it's not supposed to be serious scowls in dark rooms.
    — Kat Bein, Billboard, 21 Sep. 2017
  • If that’s true, then her scowl could be due to performance anxiety.
    — Karla L. Miller, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2020
  • Only the world’s biggest movie star could upstage her own movie with each fearsome scowl.
    — Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 15 Oct. 2019
  • And that scowl, or smile—that's your brain's facial expression system at work.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Wired, 14 July 2021
  • But for Koepka, a scowl, grimace — or an eye roll — is never more than two words away.
    — Dom Amore, courant.com, 23 June 2021
  • His face — that five o’clock shadow, the salt-and-pepper hair, the faint scowl — beamed out from the cover of each one.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2016
  • For now, the machine is only available in this color, which will inevitably make some users scowl.
    — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, 15 Dec. 2019
  • Though this adorably cynical-seeming cat passed away in May, her iconic scowl lives on.
    — Garrett Mitchell, azcentral, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Mann would charge kids in the neighborhood a nickel just to watch Donald lift weights, grunt and scowl.
    — Joe Davidson, sacbee, 26 Jan. 2018
  • Then, the scowl — inspired by three years of unfinished business — will return.
    — Theo MacKie, The Arizona Republic, 12 Feb. 2022
  • His scowl in training sessions was permanent.
    — Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 1 June 2026
  • This means a scowl is relatively likely to be an expression of anger.
    — Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 3 May 2026
  • But there’s not much scope for the actors to do anything of interest beyond scowl, fight or look anxious.
    — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Dec. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scowl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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