Ugly American
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of Ugly American
C20: from title of a novel (1958) by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick
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.
Jordan is insufferable, the worst kind of self-entitled Ugly American, but also endearing, perceptive and admirable in his tenacity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2023
He connects the phrase Ugly American with the phrase “ugly America,” a play on how Americans are perceived with his desire that America not be perceived as “ugly America.”
From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021
Like Gaslight, The Manchurian Candidate, or The Ugly American, Wag the Dog birthed a concept that has taken on a political afterlife independent from the work it was originally associated with.
From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2020
If you've ever been to the tropics, maybe you'll understand: It's not a bad or foul smell, necessarily, and this isn't to be taken as some Ugly American pejorative of things foreign or other-skinned.
From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2010
Not, however, before Frankie had time to ponder just what it means to become an Ugly American.
From Time Magazine Archive
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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.
