ugly

[uhg-lee] /ˈʌg li/
adjective, uglier, ugliest.
1.
very unattractive or unpleasant to look at; offensive to the sense of beauty; displeasing in appearance.
2.
disagreeable; unpleasant; objectionable:
ugly tricks; ugly discords.
3.
morally revolting:
ugly crime.
4.
threatening trouble or danger:
ugly symptoms.
5.
mean; hostile; quarrelsome:
an ugly mood; an ugly frame of mind.
6.
(especially of natural phenomena) unpleasant or dangerous:
ugly weather; an ugly sea.
Origin
1200-50; Middle English ugly, uglike < Old Norse uggligr fearful, dreadful, equivalent to ugg(r) fear + -ligr -ly
Related forms
uglily, adverb
ugliness, noun
superugly, adjective
Synonyms
1. ill-favored, hard-featured, uncomely, unsightly, unlovely, homely. 3. base, heinous, vile, monstrous, corrupt. 4. disadvantageous, ominous. 5. surly, spiteful. 6. stormy, tempestuous.
Antonyms
1. beautiful.
Examples from the web for ugly
  • Not to go on about it, but my poached eggs are ugly and unpleasant.
  • It's time to retire that ugly window air-conditioner for the winter.
  • It is an open and ugly secret that many colleges still weigh such factors in faculty hiring decisions.
  • Some people think wind turbines are ugly and complain about the noise the machines make.
  • The ugly truth is that the general culture can't handle hardcore culture.
  • There's no denying it is an ugly business, but such choices have to be made in war.
  • Letting criminals get away with ugly crimes is another story.
  • Though courteous and hospitable, the commanders expressed ugly views.
  • The movie resumes and portrays its likable characters forced into ugly choices.
  • The technique goes by plenty of other names, all of them ugly.
British Dictionary definitions for ugly

ugly

/ˈʌɡlɪ/
adjective -lier, -liest
1.
of unpleasant or unsightly appearance
2.
repulsive, objectionable, or displeasing in any way: war is ugly
3.
ominous or menacing: an ugly situation
4.
bad-tempered, angry, or sullen: an ugly mood
Derived Forms
uglily, adverb
ugliness, noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old Norse uggligr dreadful, from ugga fear
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.

Slang definitions & phrases for ugly

ugly

Related Terms

plug-ugly


Idioms and Phrases with ugly

ugly

also see:
rear its ugly head