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
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Recent Examples of ugly
February is a very cold and ugly month in Germany, in a very cold and ugly place in Berlin, Potsdamer Platz.
—
Daniel D'addario, Variety, 19 Mar. 2026
The Leafs fell to 2-1-1 since losing captain Auston Matthews for the season to a knee injury — a run on the heels of an ugly 0-6-2 slide that all but cratered their playoff hopes.
—CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
Southern California sales have tumbled to a pace that’s uglier than the Great Recession’s crash.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 18 Mar. 2026
Chapek’s woes as Disney chief have been well documented, from his tangles in Florida to an ugly public spat with Scarlett Johansson to alienating top executives by removing creative decision-making authority in a hugely unpopular restructuring.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ugly
Daniel D'addario, Variety, 19 Mar. 2026
The Leafs fell to 2-1-1 since losing captain Auston Matthews for the season to a knee injury — a run on the heels of an ugly 0-6-2 slide that all but cratered their playoff hopes.
—CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
Southern California sales have tumbled to a pace that’s uglier than the Great Recession’s crash.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 18 Mar. 2026
Chapek’s woes as Disney chief have been well documented, from his tangles in Florida to an ugly public spat with Scarlett Johansson to alienating top executives by removing creative decision-making authority in a hugely unpopular restructuring.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ugly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ugly
Adjective
-
Suddenly the whole thing seemed like a hideous dream.—
Elwyn "Bud" Myers,
Outdoor Life,
11 Mar. 2026
-
One of most hideous images in American poetry, and yet one of the most memorable.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Most residents of the United Arab Emirates are South Asians, most of whom have come not for disgusting luxury but for comfortable, middle-class dignity that would be difficult to obtain in their home countries.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
15 Mar. 2026
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On the phone, Miranda admits she’s known for a week, but agrees that what Shinia did was disgusting.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The editorial board has offered tone-deaf takes on the Iran war detached from its grotesque, senseless reality.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Mar. 2026
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The airstrike, allegedly part of an offensive targeting an Iranian military complex nearby, provided a grotesque example of the horrors unfolding since the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran late last month.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In the 1970s-1980s, all the agricultural talk in the Mississippi Delta was whether the boll weevil would be terrible or just awful this coming fall.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
19 Mar. 2026
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After a week of awful basketball, Minnesota led the NBA’s reigning champions – and favorites to repeat – by nine in the third quarter Sunday in Oklahoma City.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Rosemary makes one of the best companion plants for apple trees because of its strong scent that's unpleasing to critters looking to snack on a juicy red apple.—
Ashlyn Needham,
The Spruce,
16 Feb. 2026
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Smears on non-sensor areas of the tiara are like bug debris on your hood, aesthetically unpleasing but not harmful.—
Eric Tegler,
Popular Mechanics,
1 Oct. 2019
Adjective
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Arsenal, like Chelsea and City, have that horrible Wednesday-Saturday-Tuesday schedule to contend with.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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At this point, however, this news is neither insignificant nor horrible.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Caused by a fungus, the leaf spot is unattractive but not life-threatening to the plant.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
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There is a genuine pathos to the story of Sandy’s twin nieces, agreed by all to be unattractive, thanks to their weight and their noses.—
Mark Oppenheimer,
Vulture,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Every repeat viewing of Abraham's performance reveals some new moment of humiliation — some fresh sickening glimmer of anguish that feels all too familiar.—
Devan Coggan,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
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Meanwhile, in the middle of the nation’s public transit capital, the same engineers want to expand the shadow of the Cross Bronx, using maintenance and safety standards as convenient covers while further dividing and sickening communities.—
Gustavo Rivera,
New York Daily News,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ugly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ugly. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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