ugly
Americanadjective
-
uglier,
comparative
-
ugliest
superlative
-
very unattractive or unpleasant to look at; offensive to the sense of beauty; displeasing in appearance.
- Synonyms:
- homely, unlovely, unsightly, uncomely, hard-featured, ill-favored
- Antonyms:
- beautiful
-
disagreeable; unpleasant; objectionable.
ugly tricks;
ugly discords.
-
morally revolting.
ugly crime.
-
threatening trouble or danger.
ugly symptoms.
- Synonyms:
- ominous, disadvantageous
-
mean; hostile; quarrelsome.
an ugly mood;
an ugly frame of mind.
-
(especially of natural phenomena) unpleasant or dangerous.
ugly weather;
an ugly sea.
- Synonyms:
- tempestuous, stormy
adjective
-
of unpleasant or unsightly appearance
-
repulsive, objectionable, or displeasing in any way
war is ugly
-
ominous or menacing
an ugly situation
-
bad-tempered, angry, or sullen
an ugly mood
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of ugly
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English ugly, uglike, from Old Norse uggligr “fearful, dreadful,” equivalent to ugg(r) “fear” + -ligr -ly
Explanation
Ugly means "extremely unattractive." On Halloween, some people wear ugly masks as part of their scary costumes. Anything that looks or feels quite unpleasant is ugly. The adjective ugly can describe the way something or someone looks, but it can also describe behavior or actions — the ugly scene your little brother made at the toy store when he didn't get what he wanted or the ugly breakup of a friendship. Remember that when ugly becomes uglier and ugliest, the y becomes an i.
Vocabulary lists containing ugly
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:
When his time in Miami ended with his firing after three seasons and a 24-25 record, it turned ugly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Except instead of being an imaginary muscleman like Husted, Trump has cast Paxton in the role of ugly loser.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
“If you fail to tell them and your house catches fire, you’ll be in a very ugly situation.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
"This is an ugly and unattractive incident," Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC said.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
I was angry that Samir had made me a part of something so ugly.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
The tour comes as Britain faces pressure to confront uglier parts of its history, namely its central role in chattel slavery.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
So as ugly as that race looked yesterday, it could get uglier still.
From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2026
But uglier nooks are frozen in time as well.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Things looked uglier when looking at the full week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
It is bigger and uglier than Gatlinburg, and has better parking, and so of course gets more visitors.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
He told the crowd the campaign against him had been one of the ugliest seen in their lifetime.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Even the ugliest victory formation would have done the job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Can we touch on the name of your special “Ugly Baby”? Who’s the ugliest baby you’ve ever seen?
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
“It was probably the ugliest environment that I’ve been in,” said one respondent.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
The ugliest thing about these stories was that they were all sordidly true.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
