ugly
adjective
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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
ugly
adverbDefinition of ugly (Entry 2 of 2)
: in an ugly manner was acting ugly
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Other words from ugly
Adjective
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adverb
Synonyms & Antonyms for ugly
Synonyms: Adjective
abhorrent, abominable, appalling, awful, disgusting, distasteful, dreadful, evil, foul, fulsome, gross, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, nauseous, noisome, noxious, obnoxious, obscene, odious, offensive, rancid, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting, scandalous, shocking, sickening
Antonyms: Adjective
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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
FC Cincinnati found itself on the ugly side of a penalty-kick shootout result for the first time in club history. — Patrick Brennan, Cincinnati.com, "Minnesota United FC prevails in PKs over FC Cincinnati in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup," 6 June 2018 People at his level never see the ugly side of the church. — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, "John Travolta is able stave off scandal despite allegations of 'dark side,' report says," 25 May 2018 Why hurt your profession by showing so much of your ugly side? — Peggy Noonan, WSJ, "A Dog’s Breakfast of a Dinner," 3 May 2018 But in their Senate race, Arizona Republicans may end up with the worst of both worlds: A fringy nominee who is further damaged by an ugly and acrimonious nominating process. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "Power Rankings: Not so peachy primaries," 9 July 2018 The 47-year-old writer is expounding on the ugly truth of the human condition over pizza and two sources of caffeine—soda and a latte—at Gemma in the Bowery Hotel. — Jessica M. Goldstein, Marie Claire, "Gillian Flynn, Killer Queen," 8 July 2018 As things stand, this idea is based on 16 three-team groups, which is ugly and messy and fraught with complications and possibilities for collusion. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "How to stop World Cup teams from trying to lose in the group stage," 29 June 2018 Penning visceral verses about the ugly truths of jealousy and overcoming his insecurities as an openly gay black man, Smollett is morphing into a force bigger than his epochal character Jamal Lyons, who is lionized by TV junkies. — Carl Lamarre, Billboard, "Jussie Smollett on His New Album 'Sum of My Music' & Taking Ownership of His Life: 'I've Never Sold Myself to Anybody'," 6 June 2018 That is the ugly truth, but Dixon-Cole’s story will not be invisible. — Kirsten West Savali, The Root, "#CopsToo: Texas Officer Daniel Hubbard Accused of Sexually Assaulting Woman During Traffic Stop," 22 May 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb
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 Ten people were arrested late last night when things got ugly between jumping protesters and police at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. — Morning Brief, The Seattle Times, "Get lost in Seattle’s map of ‘high weirdness,’ Supreme Court deals blow to labor unions | Wednesday Morning Brief, June 27," 27 June 2018 And the discourse in the country is very ugly across the board. — Fox News, "Graham seeks answers from Rosenstein on Russia investigation," 27 June 2018 For the Brewers, this one stayed ugly until the end. — Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "From start to finish, it was an ugly afternoon for the Brewers in nearly every area," 16 June 2018 While Woods, his playing parter, has been spiraling toward an ugly missed cut for the first two rounds and the rest of the field has been brutalized the the conditions at Shinnecock, Johnson has made the toughest test in golf look manageable. — Nick Schwartz, For The Win, "The U.S. Open is Dustin Johnson's tournament to lose," 15 June 2018These 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.
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More Definitions for ugly
ugly
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of ugly
: unpleasant to look at : not pretty or attractive
: unpleasant to hear
: offensive or disgusting
See the full definition for ugly in the English Language Learners Dictionary
ugly
adjective
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Kids Definition of ugly
1 : unpleasant to look at : not attractive He was an ugly dog, but already, I loved him with all my heart. —Kate DiCamillo, Because of Winn-Dixie
2 : offensive entry 1 sense 1 ugly habits
3 : likely to cause bother or discomfort : troublesome an ugly situation
4 : showing a mean or quarrelsome disposition an ugly temper
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Comments on ugly
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