ugly

adjective

ug·ly | \ˈə-glē

uglier; ugliest

Definition of ugly

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : offensive to the sight : hideous

b : offensive or unpleasant to any sense

2 : morally offensive or objectionable corruption—the ugliest stain of all

3a : likely to cause inconvenience or discomfort the ugly truth

b : surly, quarrelsome an ugly disposition

4 : frightful, dire

ugly

adverb

Definition of ugly (Entry 2 of 2)

: in an ugly manner was acting ugly

Other Words from ugly Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about ugly

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Examples of ugly in a Sentence

Adjective

an ugly shade of green They avoided what could have been an ugly situation. He has an ugly disposition.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Recent prosecutions and trials in this district have laid bare the ugly truth that, too often, political power and responsibility in New York leads to political corruption. — Corinne Ramey, WSJ, "Ex-Cuomo Aide Gets Six Years in Prison for Bribery," 20 Sep. 2018 Six Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania joined the list this week of those around the U.S. that have been forced to face the ugly truth about child-molesting priests in their ranks. — Denise Lavoie, Fox News, "Church sex scandal: Abuse victims want a full reckoning," 15 Aug. 2018 The ugly truth is that this isn’t the truth at all. — Laura Hudson, The Verge, "Twitter is wrong: facts are not enough to combat Alex Jones," 10 Aug. 2018 In other words, consumers are responsible for these waves of ugly. — Robin Givhan, The Seattle Times, "Are designers trolling us with ‘ugly’ fashion — or is it us?," 6 Aug. 2018 That’s the ugly little truth that nobody likes to talk about. — Jamie Samuelsen, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Red Wings hope luck is on their side with 2018 NHL draft haul," 27 June 2018 There's some good, some bad, and a fair amount of ugly. — Tim Hackett, SI.com, "Life After Hard Knocks: How Do NFL Teams Fare the Following Season?," 17 May 2018 One that alludes to ugly truths about the way Native Americans were treated? — Tony Adler, Chicago Reader, "Oklahoma! throws a bright, golden haze over history," 25 Apr. 2018 Thursday's early action The good, bad and ugly from Thursday morning: This super group had a lot of buzz entering the weekend, but fell flat through the first nine. — USA TODAY, "Tiger Tracker: Tiger Woods' Thursday round at the U.S. Open shot-by-shot," 14 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

Connie Britton is playing Debra Newell, the successful interior designer who met John Meehan on the Internet and began a relationship with him that turned ugly. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Everything We Know About Bravo's TV Adaptation of Dirty John," 15 Oct. 2018 But their eventual challengers must first survive GOP primaries, which have been particularly ugly. — Nicole Gaudiano, USA TODAY, "Primary voters to cast ballots Tuesday in West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and North Carolina," 7 May 2018 The problem for the Democratic Party is that its left wing’s frenzies can turn ugly. — Daniel Henninger, WSJ, "Teeing Off on Trump," 27 June 2018 And while the first two swings did look ugly, Porcello isn’t an awful hitter for an American League pitcher. — Andrew Joseph, For The Win, "ESPN crew mocks Rick Porcello's hitting right before he rips a 3-run double," 2 July 2018 The French have been winning ugly and also drawing ugly. — Christopher Clarey, New York Times, "France and Argentina Meet in an Elite Battle for World Cup Survival," 29 June 2018 But man, this brisket turned ugly on the holding pit, a mashup of blobs and chunks and short, irregular pieces. — Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, "52 Weeks of BBQ: Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que," 13 July 2018 The struggle over these homes in Mesa, the state's third-largest city, is getting ugly. — Lily Altavena, azcentral, "Waiting for state sober living home rules, cities add their own restrictions," 7 July 2018 Mexico was going to the knockout round no matter how ugly the loss. — Andrew Beaton, WSJ, "Germany Eliminated From World Cup as Sweden, Mexico Advance," 27 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ugly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.