unpleasant

[ uhn-plez-uhnt ]

/ ʌnˈplɛz ənt /

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adjective

not pleasant; displeasing; disagreeable; offensive: an unpleasant taste; an unpleasant situation; an unpleasant manner.

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Origin of unpleasant

First recorded in 1525–35; un-¹ + pleasant

OTHER WORDS FROM unpleasant

un·pleas·ant·ly, adverb

Words nearby unpleasant

unpin, unplaced, unplait, unplanned, unplayable, unpleasant, unpleasantness, unpleasantry, unpledged delegate, unplug, unplugged

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use unpleasant in a sentence

With a foot in the door, it’s easy to look past unpleasant or unsafe behavior, especially when no one else is sounding an alarm.
The Toxicity of Restaurant Kitchens Is Exactly Why I Never Reported Abuses|Lindsey Danis|February 4, 2021|Eater
It was a job requirement, particularly during his nearly 15-year career as a diplomat in Europe, but he clearly considered it an unpleasant obligation.
Not all presidents’ dance skills are created equal|Bonnie Berkowitz, Joanne Lee|January 21, 2021|Washington Post
This is a very unpleasant experience, but I am able to see where errors were made.
Olympic gold medal hurdler provisionally suspended in doping case|Glynn A. Hill|January 14, 2021|Washington Post
There may yet be more unpleasant surprises in store for millions of people around the world as the pandemic plays out.
Technology can help us feed the world, if we look beyond profit|Katie McLean|December 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review

It is altogether unpleasant, and I shudder to think what new habit will come next.
Miss Manners: Husband’s rude eating habits driving wife up the wall|Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin|December 18, 2020|Washington Post
Both are stale and boring, and whichever one you end up having in the end is still unpleasant.
Team Peeta or Team Gale: Why the ‘Hunger Games’ Love Triangle Ruins ‘Mockingjay – Part 1’|Kevin Fallon|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That was an unpleasant reminder that for many people, science is still considered a boys club.
Earthlings, We Landed on a Comet|Matthew R. Francis|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It had to be an unpleasant shock for the much-lauded Bratton.
Bill Bratton Scolds Giggling Audience at American Justice Summit|Lloyd Grove|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It goes beyond just finding the music unpleasant, it invokes the rhetoric of legitimacy.
Of Gamers, Gates, and Disco Demolition: The Roots of Reactionary Rage|Arthur Chu|October 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was unpleasant and discombobulating: a simulation of hostage-taking, mental asylum and demented dreamscape all rolled into one.
Sex, Blood, and Screaming: Blackout’s Dark Frights|Tim Teeman|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That will give us time to turn about us, and to prepare ourselves against similar unpleasant casualties.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
No one could appreciate better than ourselves the unpleasant possibilities that stared us in the face.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
An attempt to impose an imitation on a practised judge is always productive of an unpleasant result.
Violins and Violin Makers|Joseph Pearce
Jess had been used to these unpleasant occasions ever since she was a very little girl.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
Never repeat to a person with whom you converse, any unpleasant speech you may have heard concerning her.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley

British Dictionary definitions for unpleasant

unpleasant

/ (ʌnˈplɛzənt) /

adjective

not pleasant or agreeable

Derived forms of unpleasant

unpleasantly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

unpleasant

Origin of unpleasant

OTHER WORDS FROM unpleasant

Words nearby unpleasant

Words related to unpleasant

How to use unpleasant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for unpleasant

Derived forms of unpleasant