uglier; ugliest
1
a
: unpleasant or offensive to look at : hideous
an ugly color
That dog is ugly as sin. [=very ugly]
b
: offensive or unpleasant to any sense
an ugly sound/voice
2
: morally offensive or objectionable
corruption—the ugliest stain of all
an ugly slur
3
a
: very bad, inconvenient, or unpleasant
the ugly truth
an ugly situation
Things could get/turn ugly.
b
: surly, quarrelsome
an ugly disposition/temper
: in an ugly manner
was acting ugly
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
Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 12 Nov. 2025
But in a strange game that was probably always going to be ugly even without the wind and second-half rain, the Browns just melted.
—Zac Jackson, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
Garrett Haake, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025
What makes a lot of these houses so ugly is that they were built for evil billionaire money men who do nothing but scroll Raya and bet on sports.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ugly
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Adjective
An ugly opening half, which featured the teams combining for 6-of-24 shooting in the game’s first 10 minutes, saw the visiting Wildcats catch fire from beyond the arc.
—Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 12 Nov. 2025
But in a strange game that was probably always going to be ugly even without the wind and second-half rain, the Browns just melted.
—Zac Jackson, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
Adverb
Some critics of federal food assistance stirred up ugly, misinformed tropes about SNAP recipients.
—Garrett Haake, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025
What makes a lot of these houses so ugly is that they were built for evil billionaire money men who do nothing but scroll Raya and bet on sports.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ugly
Cite this Entry
“Ugly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ugly. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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