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Prepositions after verbs

Frown upon, at, on, in, or above?

Frown upon and frown at are standard combinations. Other prepositions usually belong to separate place expressions or are nonstandard.

Quick answer

Which prepositions work with frown?

Use frown upon to mean disapprove of something. Use frown at for directing an angry or confused expression toward someone or something. Frown on is also standard and means the same as frown upon. In and above are not normal complements after frown, though they may appear in separate place expressions.

Many schools frown upon cheating.
She frowned at the rude customer.
Editors frown on unnecessary jargon.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
frown upon + behaviour

Expressing disapproval

Frown upon means disapprove of a practice or action.

Most employers frown upon lateness.
The club frown upon smoking indoors.
2
frown on + behaviour

Alternative to frown upon

Frown on is a shorter version with the same meaning.

Teachers frown on copying homework.
The company frown on personal calls at work.
3
frown at + person or thing

Directing a facial expression

Use at when someone physically frowns toward a person or object.

He frowned at the screen.
The nurse frowned at the messy report.
4
frown in + place

Adding a location adjunct

In can describe where the frowning happens, not the object of the verb.

She frowned in silence.
He frowned in the meeting room.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
frown upon
People frown upon corruption.
Standard; means disapprove of.
frown on
They frown on loud behaviour.
Standard alternative to frown upon.
frown at
She frowned at me.
Standard; directs the facial expression toward someone.
frown in
He frowned in the doorway.
In introduces location, not the object of frown.
frown above
She frowned above the map.
Not a normal complement pattern with frown.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using at for general disapproval

For broad social disapproval, use frown upon or frown on.

✕ People frown at dishonesty. ✓ People frown upon dishonesty.

Treating in as the main complement

In usually gives location, not the target of disapproval.

✕ They frown in bad manners. ✓ They frown upon bad manners.

Using above after frown

Above is not a standard preposition after frown.

✕ She frowned above his behaviour. ✓ She frowned at him because of his behaviour.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. Many cultures frown ___ public littering.
2. The teacher frowned ___ the noisy students.
3. He frowned ___ the corner of the room.

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Frequently asked questions

Are frown upon and frown on both correct?

Yes. Both are standard and usually mean disapprove of.

What is the difference between frown at and frown upon?

Frown at describes the physical expression toward someone, while frown upon means disapprove of something.

Can I use frown above?

Not as a normal complement after frown. Above may appear separately in a sentence about position.

face, with, face, by facilitate by, in, with, for or through? "fade into", "fade to" or "fade from"? fail in, at, to, on or for? "fall into" or "fall in"? falter in, after, for, on or under? fantasize about, on, of or over? fare in, against, to, as or on? "fascinate by" or "fascinate with"? "fasten to", "fasten on" or "fasten with"? favor by, in, for, from or of? favour by, in, for, over or of?

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