1
as in unpleasant
not giving pleasure to the mind or senses
an unpleasing combination of flavors in the dish
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ugly
unpleasant to look at
an unpleasing combination of fuchsia and orange
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Recent Examples of unpleasing
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
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
His side's inability to finish off the game against Burnley on the other hand was very unpleasing.
—SI.com, 1 Feb. 2018
Ashlyn Needham, The Spruce, 16 Feb. 2026
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
His side's inability to finish off the game against Burnley on the other hand was very unpleasing.
—SI.com, 1 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unpleasing
Adjective
-
But blackouts have become an unpleasant routine.—
Israel Melendez Ayala,
Time,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Standing water, combined with food residue, can create unpleasant odors.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
During the last two weeks, Sarandos got dragged into two ugly controversies.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Trump was, by now, back in office, and the issue of CNN again reared its ugly head.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The scene, however, of Myers skating around for warmups and enjoying some time with his family underscored the harsh realities of trade deadline season for the players — and the families — directly involved.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
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While many ground covers are resilient and can thrive in harsh growing conditions, such as areas with full sun and dry soil, environments that are overly damp and soggy can be tricky for certain ground covers.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
One of most hideous images in American poetry, and yet one of the most memorable.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Feb. 2026
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Next, law enforcement must rigorously interrogate the men and women who exchanged chummy emails with Epstein and played in his hideous sandbox.—
Amy Wallace,
Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The Lakers shot 50% from the field and 46% from three-point range in a dominant performance against the NBA’s worst team.—
Broderick Turner,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
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Louis Trotter’s second Bottega Veneta show at the brand’s headquarters in the Palazzo SanFedele, Palau sent models out in beanies that celebrated the beauty of a good-bad-hair day.—
Arden Fanning Andrews,
Vogue,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Trump’s taste is the stuff of legend, a sort of grotesque of the conventional, with his gold baroque glop and fake tans and bright-red neckties—everything gesturing toward high-end elegance but always wrong somehow, always slightly too much.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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Kuper suggests that, where English hooliganism represents a grotesque form of nostalgia, postwar Japanese civility is a pose predicated on collective amnesia about wartime atrocities.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unpleasing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpleasing. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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