eyesore
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of eyesore
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at eye, sore
Explanation
Something that's really unpleasant to look at is an eyesore. You could call your apartment building an eyesore if it's a huge, ugly concrete structure that looms over your street. Most eyesores are structures or buildings — an old, decrepit house that's sagging on one side and has a yard full of weeds is probably thought of as an eyesore by most of its neighbors. You might also describe a new hotel as an eyesore if it's painted a strange shade of pink that clashes with the buildings nearby. The word eyesore has been around since the 1500's, from the idea of "something so offensive to the eye that it hurts."
Vocabulary lists containing eyesore
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Josh’s Eyesore Fleming: The D.C. championship game between Sidwell and Wilson ended on a crazy buzzer-beater—and then another crazy buzzer-beater.
From Slate • Mar. 4, 2019
A Run-In With a Flying Eyesore IT is not surprising in New York to see a tree laden with plastic bags and other debris.
From New York Times • Jul. 27, 2012
Archbishop's Eyesore Peering out of Lambeth Palace, where he lives, the Archbishop of Canterbury used to see "the cheapest and ugliest bridge across the Thames."
From Time Magazine Archive
Her very last lodger had been Lady McGuffern, the widow of the medical director of the great Indian Eyesore district, as Mrs. O'Neil called it.
From The Bertrams by Trollope, Anthony
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
