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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Verb
The split-screen said it all: Trump glowered and grimaced, spewing old grievances and strange new attacks. Brian Bennett, TIME, 11 Sep. 2024 Speaking of the old boy, he’s got his own issues going on downstairs, namely an ex-wife (Monica Bellucci) stapled together and stalking him around his workplace, glowering beautifully. Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2024
Noun
But Gaga is dully earnest, struggling to match her costar’s tortured internal glower. Tom Gliatto, People.com, 3 Oct. 2024 There were the inevitable Asian-in-the-news roles (Andrew Yang, Kim Jong Un), but Yang, with his resting glower and pop-diva flair, brought a new flavor to the show. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for glower 

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

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near glower

Cite this Entry

“Glower.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glower. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

glower

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

More from Merriam-Webster on glower

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!