ugly

adjective ug·ly \ ˈə-glē \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of ugly

uglier; ugliest

1 a : offensive to the sight : hideous

b : offensive or unpleasant to any sense

2 : morally offensive or objectionable

corruption—the ugliest stain of all

3 a : likely to cause inconvenience or discomfort

the ugly truth

b : surly, quarrelsome

an ugly disposition

4 : frightful, dire

—

uglily

play \ˈə-glə-lē\ adverb

See ugly defined for English-language learners

See ugly defined for kids

Examples of ugly in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of ugly from the Web

And that’s sort of our lot, was to plow through a really ugly, difficult campaign.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Former communications director for the Hillary Clinton campaign Jennifer Palmieri on Recode Decode," 12 Apr. 2018
With four people now on the Time Team and only three seats in the Lifeboat, this could get ugly in future episodes.

— rachel kaufman, Smithsonian, "The Drama Intensifies When “Timeless” Visits “Hollywoodland”," 26 Mar. 2018
The nose is pierced, the news is fake, and the fashion is ugly.

— sam schube, GQ, "Cambridge Analytica and the New Wave of Hacker Style," 19 Mar. 2018
The ugly side of baseball, the side that is a constant in the game, tapped Brett Nicholas on the shoulder Wednesday morning and escorted him into the manager's office to hear the news that he had been designated for assignment.

— jeff wilson, star-telegram, "Here's what Andrus, Young, Lincecum remember about 2010 World Series | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 7 Mar. 2018
But at the same time, there’s an ugly side of this.

— NBC News, "Meet the Press-February 25, 2018," 25 Feb. 2018
Ultimately, that love for the medium also means taking a hard look at its ugly sides.

— brandon yu, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘Non-Player Character,’ based on Gamergate, comes to stage in the time of #MeToo," 31 Jan. 2018
The beautiful landmark at the entrance to San Francisco Bay has an ugly side.

— CBS News, "The Golden Gate Bridge to get a suicide net," 7 Jan. 2018
Irregular holes riddle its surface, along with ugly brown spots tinged in yellow—the effects of a toxin produced by the SDS fungus that courses through the plant, robbing it of its pods and chewing up the leaves from the inside out.

— marla broadfoot, Scientific American, "Is This the Next Green Revolution?," 22 Aug. 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of ugly

Middle English, from Old Norse uggligr, from uggr fear; akin to Old Norse ugga to fear

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

ugly Synonyms

ugly

adverb

Definition of ugly

: in an ugly manner

was acting ugly

Recent Examples of ugly from the Web

Gausman'a 2018 season has been ugly, totaling a 6.60 ERA and 1.60 WHIP with 15 strikeouts against six walks in 15 innings.

— michael beller, SI.com, "The Table Setter: Pleading for Mercy from the Winter, and Previewing the Season's Third Week," 16 Apr. 2018
The conversation came to a head last week, when conversation between a local climate activist and a board member turned ugly and led to calls from the mayor for resignations.

— alex harris, miamiherald, "Should Miami’s sea level rise committee address climate change, too? | Miami Herald," 5 Apr. 2018
The feud between Cranley and the city manager has been ugly, as has the fight between Cranley and the council majority.

— sharon coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "Recall John Cranley? Cincinnati councilman says yes - and he wants you to vote on the idea," 26 Mar. 2018
The highlight video included the misses, which were ugly - especially the LaMelo airball at the 38-second mark.

— andrew joseph, USA TODAY, "LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball have their best pro game," 4 Feb. 2018
While it's been ugly at times, New Orleans has a 3-1 record through the first four games of the homestand, including a 96-92 victory against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

— william guillory, NOLA.com, "New Orleans Pelicans vs. Los Angeles Lakers: How to watch, TV, streaming info," 22 Mar. 2018
But this was a different kind of fan attention, ugly in a stupid way, and Edwards gave the guy a look of pity.

— gregg doyel, Indianapolis Star, "Doyel: Carsen Edwards not ready to let Isaac Haas injury news spell doom for Purdue NCAA tournament run," 16 Mar. 2018
Carolyn: Why are all nice girls ugly and all the pretty girls not nice?

— carolyn hax, idahostatesman, "Are only ugly girls nice? | Idaho Statesman," 19 Mar. 2018
Also, Kevin Durant has already made the narrative so ugly; all LeBron would be doing is countering the KD move, right?

— andrew sharp and ben golliver, SI.com, "Get Him Out of There: What If LeBron James Decided He Wanted to Leave Cleveland?," 26 Jan. 2018

First Known Use of ugly

14th century

UGLY Defined for English Language Learners

ugly

adjective

Definition of ugly for English Language Learners

: unpleasant to look at : not pretty or attractive
: unpleasant to hear
: offensive or disgusting

UGLY Defined for Kids

ugly

adjective ug·ly \ ˈə-glē \

Definition of ugly for Students

uglier; ugliest

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 : ¹offensive 1

ugly habits

3 : likely to cause bother or discomfort : troublesome

an ugly situation

4 : showing a mean or quarrelsome disposition

an ugly temper

—

ugliness

noun

Learn More about ugly

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ugly

Definition of ugly

uglily

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Origin and Etymology of ugly

ugly Synonyms

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ugly

Definition of ugly

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UGLY Defined for English Language Learners

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Definition of ugly for English Language Learners

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