ugly duckling
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of ugly duckling
First recorded in 1880–85; after the bird in the story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen
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.
"It is an incredibly difficult thing to go from turning that person from an ugly duckling into a swan."
From BBC • Jul. 18, 2024
The bewitchingly fragrant fruit — a relative of apples and pears — does go through an ugly duckling phase, Walden acknowledges.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 31, 2023
Despite being regarded as an ugly duckling by the foreign policy establishment, USIA-led public diplomacy efforts played a key role in achieving several important foreign policy objectives.
From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2023
The soaring demand for warehouses, once the ugly duckling of the real estate industry, underscores their pivotal role in a complex global supply chain.
From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2022
It was like the makeover scenes in my American movies, where they take the dorky guy or girl, fix the hair and change the clothes, and the ugly duckling becomes the swan.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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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.