raised eyebrow
1
3.9
- noun
:
ceja levantada
- My raised eyebrows said, "No, Dennis."
- asked with a raised eyebrow
- get a raised eyebrow
- look, accompanied by raised eyebrows
Examples
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A raised eyebrow from Lassiter, but he's game...
Fiction book (2000) -
A raised eyebrow from Mintz.
Fiction book (2000) -
A raised eyebrow from Jack.
Fiction book (2000) -
There were many raised eyebrows, many words exchanged.
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A raised eyebrow from Kate, still watching...
Fiction book (2000) -
A raised eyebrow from Kate.
Fiction book (2000) -
Kate looks at her with a raised eyebrow, then nods.
Fiction book (2000) -
She looks at Jack with a raised eyebrow, the dog still yapping.
Fiction book (2000) -
" At Trevor's raised eyebrow, Jude shook her head.
Fiction book (2000) -
Peter turned to look at John with a raised eyebrow to show his disbelief.
How Surprised
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from 'raised' (lifted) + 'eyebrow' (the brow): lifting an eyebrow naturally signals surprise, skepticism, or disbelief. This gesture-to-meaning mapping is common across languages and cultures, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the MWE's meaning, with only contextual nuance (which specific attitude is meant) requiring exposure.
Etymology
Raised eyebrow comes from a simple face movement: the word raised means 'lifted' and the eyebrow moving up on one side makes a questioning or surprised look. So, a raised eyebrow shows 'surprise', 'skepticism', or 'disbelief'.