stern look
Silent parental rebuke
A stern look is a facial expression conveying disapproval, seriousness, or warning—typically involving a fixed gaze, furrowed brow, and unsmiling mouth.
Parents give children stern looks to signal misbehavior without words.
Teachers deploy them to quiet a classroom.
She silenced him with a stern look.
The phrase functions as a single unit, distinct from other kinds of looks.
- glareFierce stare or brightness
- death stareIntensely hostile glare
- scowlAngry facial expression
- frownDisapproving facial expression
- evil eyeHarm-dealing gaze, supposedly
disapproval · piercing · icy · ice cold · cold · stare · hard stare · gaze · withering · reproach · glower · harsh · severe · steely · intimidating · disappointed · unsmiling · hard
- angry expressionsfurrowed brow, clenched jaw, narrowed eyes, scowl, glare
- disapprovaldisapproval, scowl, disapprove, disapproves, frown
- disciplinemisconduct, violation, time-out, timeout, grounded
- facial expressionssmiling, smile, grin, grinning, frown
- mild punishmentswarning, reprimand, caution, scolding, timeout
- serious expressionsno joke, dead serious, I mean it, seriously, in earnest