ugly
Americanadjective
-
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
- superugly adjective
- uglily adverb
- ugliness noun
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
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.
They don’t say that you will mourn this garish and ugly melamine plate—which you rashly gave away during a clear-out—as if it were a dead pet.
The last time Alibaba had a year this good, it later turned ugly.
From Barron's
The ugly stories told by fellow cast members, directors, agents and innocent passersby have been recounted for years, perhaps most notoriously in the history “Live From New York” by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller.
Here’s where silver gets uglier than rare earths.
From MarketWatch
Things are turning uglier by the week for West Ham.
From BBC
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.
