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:
I couldn’t claim to be surprised by any of this, exactly—I was a teenager in the immediate post-9/11 years and knew how ugly it could get—but it was still stunning to see.
From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2026
“Whether it’s ugly or pretty, just get it done.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026
Once the slow-motion replays were looked at it became apparent that the nature of the contact on Tel was very ugly, with the twist of the ankle.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Investors looking for a silver lining in Thursday’s ugly stock selloff can find it in Treasurys.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
He said words in German that were foreign but ugly and spit on the ground at my feet.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
The fine print on Boeing’s big acquisition last year keeps getting uglier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
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
Things could well get uglier before they get better for England.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
The worst of them made up uglier names than Bolshevist even, and allowed the brutal side of their natures to dwell on imaginary enormities which they attributed to the knights.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
He told the crowd the campaign against him had been one of the ugliest seen in their lifetime.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
As our Jared Diamond and Jason Gay have chronicled, this World Series is merely prologue to the ugliest labor fight baseball has seen in a generation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
Still, the settlement agreement bars either side from appealing Liman’s ruling, potentially drawing one of Hollywood’s ugliest recent legal fights to a close.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
“It was probably the ugliest environment that I’ve been in,” said one respondent.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
Iron Emmett rode at the head of the column, mounted on the ugliest horse Jon had ever seen, a shaggy beast that looked to be all hair and hooves.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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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.
