disapproving frown
- noun
- /ˌdɪsəˈpruvɪŋ fraʊn/
:
ceño desaprobador
- The woman came back to her console, next to the guy, gave him a disapproving frown, then sat down and clapped a regulation earphone and pin mic set to her head.
Examples
-
When she heard the outrageous suggestion, Jane could only respond with a disapproving frown.
-
She retreated a step and arranged her face in a disapproving frown.
Fiction book (2001) -
The teacher gave the student a disapproving frown when he failed to turn in his homework on time.
-
Seeing the mess left in the kitchen, his mother looked at him with a disapproving frown.
Synonyms
54
1.0
A facial expression with the eyebrows pushed together showing dislike or worry
15
3.9
An angry look that shows you do not like something
10
2.8
A look that shows dislike or anger
2
3.1
A serious face that shows someone is unhappy or strict
2
4.6
A fixed unfriendly look that shows anger or disapproval
A cold unfriendly look someone gives to show dislike
A hard, cold look that shows no feeling
Antonyms
1
1.0
A facial expression with the mouth corners turned up to show happiness or friendliness
How Disapproving
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from 'disapproving' (showing lack of approval) + 'frown' (a facial expression), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a frowning reaction that signals disapproval (including as a digital emoji). This compositional pattern is literal and cross-linguistically common, making the phrase immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Disapproving frown is the face you make when your eyebrows pull together and your lips press tight, where frown names the face and disapproving names the feeling. That's why it means 'disapproval'.