eyesore
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
They hoped it would rid them of what they consider both an eyesore and an environmental hazard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
“Right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the blighted Oceanwide Plaza has been an eyesore for too long due to failed ownership,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
Not only is the waste an eyesore, it is also damaging to sheep grazing on the land as well as nesting birds and other wildlife, she said.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2026
The community -- which has long caught the eye of writers, travellers and NGOs but is seen as an eyesore by the government -- faced similar demolitions in 2005 and 2012.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
Eros is not so much an eyesore, it turns out, as just too much noise.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Marlyn Castner, 71, who moved down from Portage, Mich., and bought a condo in 2022, said she considers such sights eyesores, along with recreational vehicles parked in yards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
If fashion is a storyteller, what are these eyesores trying to tell us?
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025
He spoke glowingly about his father’s early years as a Manhattan developer, his work turning eyesores into thriving skyscrapers, and the “vision he had to do things differently.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
He described his father, who was not present in court, as someone who was on the leading edge of creating value in properties and could turn "eyesores" into "jewels".
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2023
Such eyesores as one finds on the trolley-lines in any direction!
From The Cost of Shelter by Richards, Ellen H.
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.
