glower

1 of 2

verb

glow·​er ˈglau̇(-ə)r How to pronounce glower (audio)
nonstandard
ˈglō(-ə)r How to pronounce glower (audio)
glowered; glowering; glowers

intransitive verb

: to look or stare with sullen annoyance or anger
glowered at the noisy children in the library

glower

2 of 2

noun

: a sullen brooding look of annoyance or anger

Did you know?

We send this word, glower, out to the glaring grumps, the scowling scoundrels, and the pouting pessimists of the world. Its gloomy roots grow in Scotland, where glower (or glowren, to use the older Scottish form of the word) has been used since the late Middle Ages. Originally, the word meant simply "to look intently" or "to stare in amazement," but by the late 1700s, glowering stares were being associated with anger instead of astonishment. We can offer no explanation for this semantic development, but we will submit that in its evolved form it reminds us of an older and unrelated English word: lower (it rhymes with flower) means "to frown or look sullen."

Examples of glower in a Sentence

Verb The librarian glowered at us when she heard us laughing. baseball fans glowering at their TVs as they watched their favorite team lose
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
But the tragedy of the Apollo’s exit — martyred at the hands of glowering Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Lundgren) in a Cold War perversion of Joe Louis’ matchup with German champ Max Schmeling — was thrilling in a more primordial way, like a comic book answer to Shakespeare or the Greeks. Vulture, 4 Feb. 2024 In an era of near-constant change in college football, there was one thing that was remarkably consistent: Nick Saban, glowering on the sideline, while his team played on the biggest possible stage. Laine Higgins, WSJ, 11 Jan. 2024 Rather, people needle their opponents, defend their positions, glower over their predicaments. Bishop Sand, Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2023 Richard Avedon’s renditions of Frank glowering back at him, from 1975, imply what was true—that Frank considered Avedon a celebrity chaser, not an artist. Nicholas Dawidoff, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2023 The professional advice is not to smile and not to glower. Beth Teitell, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Aug. 2023 And in the roadless hills south of Zdarsky’s airport stands the Lake Bonneville Guardian, a wooden totem pole painted with a glowering sea captain hugging a bear. Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023 And yet non-fans may have to admit that, in the brief glimpses of him in public so far Anthony has a less belligerent, more conciliatory-seeming persona than that of, say, the perpetually glowering Aldean. Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2023 Two dark towers have risen over the skyline, glowering at each other across the East River. Justin Davidson, Curbed, 3 Aug. 2023
Noun
The cop, Rana (played with a perpetual glower by Sikandar Kher), is also the man who destroyed Kid’s village. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Mar. 2024 At the gym, Rodz helped McCallany perfect everything from Fritz’s menacing glower to that signature Iron Claw. Devan Coggan, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2023 As the anxious, aspiring Cambridge postgrad, Labbadia glowers and snaps and trudges around in a dirty bathrobe, playing a first-person shooter on a handheld gaming console and sullenly bouncing a tennis ball off the wall. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 17 Nov. 2023 The glower, it must be said, has a precedent in the arrest photograph of Hermann Göring, the president of the Nazi Reichstag. Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2023 Tedros, blank-eyed and high as a kite, glowers as his pet project seems to be reclaiming her life. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2023 In the audience, Hudson crosses his arms and glowers like Ressler on a bad day. Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 2 June 2023 Her solid-state stare can easily morph into a don’t-mess-with-me glower. Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Apr. 2023 That pause, coupled with a glower, speaks volumes. Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2022

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

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English (Scots) glowren; akin to Middle Low German glūren to be overcast, Middle Dutch gloeren to leer

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1715, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of glower was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near glower

Cite this Entry

“Glower.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glower. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

glower

verb
glow·​er
ˈglau̇(-ə)r
: to stare angrily
glower noun

More from Merriam-Webster on glower

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