ugly
- very unattractive or unpleasant to look at; offensive to the sense of beauty; displeasing in appearance.
- disagreeable; unpleasant; objectionable: ugly tricks; ugly discords.
- morally revolting: ugly crime.
- threatening trouble or danger: ugly symptoms.
- mean; hostile; quarrelsome: an ugly mood; an ugly frame of mind.
- (especially of natural phenomena) unpleasant or dangerous: ugly weather; an ugly sea.
Origin of ugly
Synonyms
See more synonyms for ugly on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
Examples from the Web for ugly
Contemporary Examples
Some longtime local acquaintances are struggling to square the man they know with the ugly associations.
Of those, 1,980 used the term “cute”, while just 12 mentioned the word “ugly”.
Two seasons ago, the show killed off its main romantic interest, Matthew Crawley, in an ugly car accident.
After mom cries out in anguish and frustration on hearing the verdict, the ugly side of the protests rears its head.
Michael Brown’s Stepfather Tells Crowd, ‘Burn This Bitch Down’Jack Holmes, The Daily Beast Video
November 25, 2014
Adding fuel to the fire was an often ugly war of words between Mr. Gelb and the unions, both in the press and on social media.
Historical Examples
One of mine, as I have heretofore said, is to give an ugly likeness.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
"Because we have chosen what is bad, and do not know how ugly it is—that is why," answered her father.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
But was it possible he should ever wake to see how ugly his conduct had been?
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
I could almost marry Strathay to save him from the ugly millioned girls!
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
"You may be ugly, but ye've served me well," Saunders began.
Quaint CourtshipsVarious
ugly
- of unpleasant or unsightly appearance
- repulsive, objectionable, or displeasing in any waywar is ugly
- ominous or menacingan ugly situation
- bad-tempered, angry, or sullenan ugly mood
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for ugly
adj.
mid-13c., uglike "frightful or horrible in appearance," from Old Norse uggligr "dreadful, fearful," from uggr "fear, apprehension, dread" (perhaps related to agg "strife, hate") + -ligr "-like." Meaning softened to "very unpleasant to look at" late 14c. Extended sense of "morally offensive" is attested from c.1300; that of "ill-tempered" is from 1680s.
Among words for this concept, ugly is unusual in being formed from a root for "fear, dread." More common is a compound meaning "ill-shaped" (e.g. Greek dyseides, Latin deformis, Irish dochrud, Sanskrit ku-rupa). Another Germanic group has a root sense of "hate, sorrow" (see loath). Ugly duckling (1877) is from the story by Hans Christian Andersen, first translated from Danish to English 1846. Ugly American "U.S. citizen who behaves offensively abroad" is first recorded 1958 as a book title.
Idioms and Phrases with ugly
ugly
In addition to the idioms beginning with ugly
- ugly as sin
- ugly customer
- ugly duckling
also see:
- rear its ugly head