scowl

/skaʊl/

//skaʊl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"scowl" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“scowl” is uncommon English (frequency #52,618 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,618
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The wrinkling of the brows or face in frowning; the expression of displeasure, sullenness, or discontent in the countenance; an angry frown.

Corpus desk

Index EN-scowl · scowl · English

scowl · rank #52,618 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,618
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Seema

Nearest frequency peer: Seema (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “scowl”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “scowl” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for scowl
PropertyValue
Headwordscowl
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/skaʊl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#52,618
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “scowl” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).scowlfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Seema” (#52,620), “scavenge” (#52,615), “Sano” (#52,614). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “scowl” is #52,618. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

scowl is uncommon English at frequency #52,618 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /skaʊl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for scowl, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English scowlen, scoulen, skoulen (also as Middle English schoulen), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Danish skule (“to scowl”), Norwegian skule (“to scowl”). The correct English form is scowl, spelled S-C-O-W-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    The wrinkling of the brows or face in frowning; the expression of displeasure, sullenness, or discontent in the countenance; an angry frown.
  2. 2
    Gloom; dark or threatening aspect.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how scowl appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. She made a scowl.
  2. Mr. Pynsent, who had asked Miss Amory to dance, came up on one occasion to claim her hand, but scowls of recognition having already passed between him and Mr. Arthur Pendennis in the dancing-room, Arthur suddenly rose up and claimed Miss Amory as his partner for the present dance […]

Etymology

From Middle English scowlen, scoulen, skoulen (also as Middle English schoulen), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Danish skule (“to scowl”), Norwegian skule (“to scowl”).

This word in other languages

ceño(Español)froncement(Français)carranca(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "scowl"?
"scowl" is spelled S-C-O-W-L. The IPA pronunciation is /skaʊl/.
What does "scowl" mean?
As a noun, "scowl" means: The wrinkling of the brows or face in frowning; the expression of displeasure, sullenness, or discontent in the countenance; an angry frown.
How do you pronounce "scowl"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scowl" is /skaʊl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "scowl"?
From Middle English scowlen, scoulen, skoulen (also as Middle English schoulen), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Danish skule (“to scowl”), Norwegian skule (“to scowl”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "scowl", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Seema#52,620Sambo#52,612Sabra#52,610shied#52,626

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list