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Glite Dictionary
beetle-browed

beetle-browed

1 9.6
Thick heavy eyebrows that make a person look angry or unfriendly
  • adjective
  • /ˈbiːtəlˌbraʊd/
  • Literature
: de cejas prominentes
  • The maid was anything but the beetle-browed domestic having to repeat her duties back to Mrs. Mabus before she could be released from her duties.

Examples

  • His beetle-browed appearance gave him a stern look that made people hesitate to approach him.

  • This whole huge empire was run out of some back rooms by a few beetle-browed men.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The beetle-browed man looked intimidating with his thick eyebrows.

  • During the meeting, the beetle-browed woman crossed her arms and frowned at the speaker.

Synonyms

scowling
vsbeetle-browed
3 5.4

A person who looks angry and unfriendly because they frown

is a facial feature of thick prominent eyebrows that creates a sullen look

Antonyms

friendly
763 1.0

Kind and helpful toward other people

welcoming
79 1.0

A friendly way of acting that makes people feel comfortable

How Stern

stern
64 4.3
beetle-browed
  • Literature
1 9.6
serious
∞ 1.4
calm
680 1.0
pleasant
79 1.0

Surface Forms

beetle-browed positive

Morphology

beetle-browed = beetle + brow (semi-transparent) = beetle + brow + ed

The compound 'beetle-brow' is a metaphorical description (brow like a beetle), so component meanings are visible but the figurative nuance and resulting impression ('sullen or unfriendly') are not fully predictable.

Etymology

Beetle-browed comes from the image of a beetle ('insect') with a low, heavy back that casts a dark shadow, and brow which means 'eyebrow'. So beetle-browed means having heavy, overhanging eyebrows that make someone look stern or unfriendly.