glowering 1 of 2

adjective

as in frowning

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glowering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of glower
1
as in glaring
to look with anger or disapproval baseball fans glowering at their TVs as they watched their favorite team lose

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in darkening
to take on a gloomy or forbidding look the old man just sat in his rocking chair, his face glowering at the prospect of unwanted company

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of glowering
Verb
Walking around in the mud and glowering at the neighbors is not my idea of a good time. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2026 Corey Stoll plays a glowering boss baddie, the kind of villain even Iron Man 2 couldn’t take seriously. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026 That geographic blandness only emphasizes the film’s other shortcomings, such as Schoenaerts’s anonymous work as the villain (a lot of glowering and creepy glares) and the rather rote big-sister/little-sister arc given to Supergirl and Ruthye. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026 Dennis is meanwhile back at home, probably glowering, knowing again how this story ends. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 20 May 2026 Balagov is indisputably a filmmaker with his own distinctive vision, ideally matched with Evgueni and Sacha Galperine’s glowering score and with Fray’s nimble shooting style, which often takes its cue to get in close from the knotted bodies on the wrestling mats. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026 Muhammad Ali glowering over a fallen Sonny Liston in 1965? — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026 It’s been broadly debated whether the novel actually is a love story between the snobbish Cathy and the glowering Heathcliff. — Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026 His ever-glowering face on the sideline has sparked countless memes and has come to personify the sharp-eyed, no-nonsense manner in which these Hoosiers have rocketed through the sport in just two seasons. — Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for glowering
  1. frowning
  2. glaring
  3. darkening
  4. scowling
  5. staring
  6. sullen
Adjective
  • Balogun then looked over at a frowning Ream, who had just finished urging his teammates to be sure to stop and smell the flowers along this World Cup journey.
    — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
Definition of frowning
Verb
  • The only glaring weakness was, once again, the superstar who used to be their strength.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The hypocrisy is so glaring you can’t even turn your head toward it.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of glaring
Verb
  • The neutral palette feels a little more friendly and relaxed rather than dark and serious, which adds a certain brightness back into the rapidly darkening days.
    — Bianca Kratky, Glamour, 8 Oct. 2026
  • But at a festive National Day meal in Riyadh, where families dined while patriotic songs filled the room, there was a growing sense that the public mood may be darkening.
    — Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of darkening
Adjective
  • The video, which has garnered over 70,000 views as of Wednesday, opens with a scowling Donalds, sitting behind the governor’s desk one year into his hypothetical first term.
    — Garrett Shanley, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026
Definition of scowling
Verb
  • Instead of everybody facing one direction staring at the DJ, Savage wants the environment to be about the ambiance, the music, and the people in the space, not just who’s playing.
    — Candace Hansen, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The black-and-white illustration showed a mother kneeling on the frothing waves’ surface, staring into the face of her naked infant as the Virgin Mary towered above them both, attended by angels circling her head.
    — Ellen O’Connell Whittet, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of staring
Adjective
  • At the end of all that immersiveness, exiting out onto the physical street to join the crowds of shuffling tourists and fend off sullen Elmos makes Times Square feel like the soul of authenticity.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Shortly after the invasion of London begins, the capital is under rebel control, so what is this previously quiet and sullen teenage King to do?
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of sullen

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Cite this Entry

“Glowering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glowering. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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