unpleasantness
Americannoun
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the quality or state of being unpleasant.
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something that is displeasing or offensive, as an experience, event, or situation.
An unpleasantness made them ill-at-ease.
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an unpleasant feeling or sensation caused by disagreeable or painful stimuli.
noun
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the state or quality of being unpleasant
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an unpleasant event, situation, etc
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a disagreement or quarrel
Etymology
Origin of unpleasantness
First recorded in 1540–50; unpleasant + -ness
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’s a chronicle of race history in the late 19th and 20th centuries, with all the unpleasantness, and yet it is an act of poetic aspiration, resignation and bravura aesthetics.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Ironically, such unpleasantness can inspire as many calm, intelligent chats as “The Drama” already has.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
And the feeling of unpleasantness in San Francisco about human misery—people who are having some real hard, difficult times living so close to people who are making fortunes that are unbelievable—that hasn’t changed.
From Slate • Aug. 15, 2025
That the unpleasantness turns out to be time well spent is a credit to Leigh’s curiosity about miserable jerks and the joy-sucking traps they set for themselves and others.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2025
The sand was the finest in the world, and there was no bulk to it whatsoever, and, at first, no unpleasantness.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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.
