ugly

adjective

ˈə-glē How to pronounce ugly (audio)
Definition of uglynext
1
as in hideous
unpleasant to look at her first attempt at painting was pretty ugly—a portrait of her sister that was not at all flattering

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disgusting
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment an ugly suggestion for controlling the overpopulation of deer in the area

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ugly Everything Rhaenyra cares about — power, dragons, legacy — is ugly. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026 The queen really is ugly, as Helaena says, though not in terms of outward beauty. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 And large beach totes are often kind of ugly and take up too much space. — Mariana Zapata, Travel + Leisure, 10 Aug. 2026 Damage goes deep Friday’s loss followed a much uglier version of the same problem. — Tyler M. Carmona, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ugly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ugly
  1. hideous
  2. disgusting
  3. grotesque
  4. awful
  5. unpleasing
  6. horrible
  7. unattractive
  8. sickening
Adjective
  • Illiteracy, and its centuries-long ongoing epidemic, is hideous.
    — Liza Lentini, SPIN, 21 July 2026
  • The ace endured a rocky start punctuated by a hideous 11-run blowup in Minnesota and has now been sidelined with a shoulder injury since April 26.
    — Mac Cerullo, Hartford Courant, 28 June 2026
Definition of hideous
Adjective
  • In a series distinguished by copious disgusting battle scenes, Ormund co-stars in one of its very grossest—a gross-on-gross-on-gross flambé—and almost gets in one last barf.
    — Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
  • His central characters can be nasty, disgusting, violent, hysterically cruel, and passionately consumed.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of disgusting
Adjective
  • The battle sequences in this finale are awful, elaborate, and grotesque, especially Ormund using children as human shields and Daemon burning them alive.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Then there’s the Trawler, part of the nouvelle vague of Los Angeles serial killers operating in Charles Manson’s wake — peer to the Night Stalker and the Hillside Strangler — and prefacing his grotesque murders with sadistic taunting.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of grotesque
Adjective
  • The disease still makes lots of people feel awful for a week or two, foiling their summer vacations and forcing them to miss work and school.
    — Rob Stein, NPR, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Singing in the shower, gardening, baking, and writing poetry (yes, even awful poetry) are all good options.
    — Laura Bradley, HEALTH, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of awful
Adjective
  • The identity of the unpleasing Lindsay Marriott’s slayer has no pressing interest.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026
  • The remarks not only referred to the aesthetics of the game – tedious matches devoid of skillful merit that were unpleasing to watch.
    — Cesar R. Torres, The Conversation, 26 May 2026
Definition of unpleasing
Adjective
  • Whatever cloud of innocence has hung over Jo’s life until this point is shattered, both parents struggling how to navigate the horrible experience from an emotional as well as a purely bureaucratic perspective.
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
  • After years of seeing enough photos of fabulous wealth and horrible tragedy, these types of images cease to shock us.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of horrible
Adjective
  • The tens of thousands of people traveling at once and the road closures near the stadium and Atlanta park made driving very unattractive.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Not at all times because catastrophes happen and underwriting can sometimes get so crowded that the pricing becomes unattractive.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 20 July 2026
Definition of unattractive
Adjective
  • As health officials pointed to a Mexican processing plant run by Taylor Farms as the source of a parasite sickening Americans, the giant produce company rushed to defend itself.
    — Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The vote followed roughly six hours of emotional testimony from dozens of residents from across southeast Los Angeles County who pleaded for the air district to take action to require Lineage to do more to suppress sickening odors.
    — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of sickening

Browse Nearby Words

ugliness
ugly
ukase
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Cite this Entry

“Ugly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ugly. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of ugly for Spanish Speakers

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