uglyug‧ly /ˈʌɡli/ ●●● S3 adjective (comparative uglier, superlative ugliest) 
a very ugly man the ugliest building in town Nick’s dog is as ugly as sin (=very ugly).2used to describe a situation which is very bad or violent, and which makes you feel frightened or threatened: There were ugly scenes as rival gangs started attacking each other. an ugly incident3ugly ideas, feelings, remarks etc are unpleasant: Jealousy is an ugly emotion. ugly rumors4ugly duckling someone who is less attractive, successful etc than other people, but who becomes beautiful and successful later—ugliness noun [uncountable]THESAURUSugly very unpleasant to look at – used about people, objects, and buildings: · She thinks she's ugly but she's not.· an ugly block of flats· cheap ugly furnitureunattractive not pleasant to look at. Unattractive sounds more formal and less strong than ugly: · an unattractive modern town which was built during the 1960s· Women found him unattractive.unsightly formal not pleasant to look at, and spoiling the appearance of something: · Unsightly red spots started to appear on her face.· The windows have been blocked off with unsightly metal bars.extremely uglyhideous extremely ugly: · His hideous face twisted into a smile.· a hideous concrete shopping centre· a hideous monsterrepulsive extremely ugly, especially in a way that makes you want to look away: · His appearance was so repulsive he had to wear a mask.grotesque extremely ugly in a strange or unnatural way: · A grotesque figure appeared out of the darkness.an eyesore (also a blot on the landscape) noun [singular] something that is so ugly that it spoils the appearance of an area: · Local residents regard the new office building as an eyesore.· I think wind turbines are a blot on the landscape - why can't people just use less electricity?
WORD ORIGINugly
Origin:
1200-1300 Old Norse uggligr ‘frightening’, from uggr ‘fear’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- an ugly chair
- An ugly little man came over and offered to buy me a drink.
- That's a really ugly picture of me.
- The room was bare except for a few pieces of ugly furniture
- They're in an ugly fight over who will get the children.
- We hated our uncle. He was fat and ugly, with tiny eyes and a long, pointed nose.
- For an ugly moment I had been convinced she had guessed the real reason for my avid professional interest in Bill Francis.
- I glanced down to see that a well-aimed egg had turned my blouse into an ugly mess.
- It was on Sunday that the scenes turned ugly.
- Not long afterwards, ugly rumours began to circulate.
- Or how about the faint chirp prodding you to invent an ugly doll with a hankering for tickles?
- Use very small stitches to suture, otherwise an ugly scar may result.
- Where there were sentimental witnesses the old, the ugly and the inept always came out best.
THESAURUS
very unpleasant to look at – used about people, objects, and buildings: · She thinks she's ugly but she's not.· an ugly block of flats· cheap ugly furniture
not pleasant to look at. Unattractive sounds more formal and less strong than ugly: · an unattractive modern town which was built during the 1960s· Women found him unattractive.
formal not pleasant to look at, and spoiling the appearance of something: · Unsightly red spots started to appear on her face.· The windows have been blocked off with unsightly metal bars.
extremely ugly extremely ugly: · His hideous face twisted into a smile.· a hideous concrete shopping centre· a hideous monster
extremely ugly, especially in a way that makes you want to look away: · His appearance was so repulsive he had to wear a mask.
extremely ugly in a strange or unnatural way: · A grotesque figure appeared out of the darkness.
(also a blot on the landscape) noun [singular] something that is so ugly that it spoils the appearance of an area: · Local residents regard the new office building as an eyesore.· I think wind turbines are a blot on the landscape - why can't people just use less electricity?
Longman Language Activatorperson extremely unattractive, with a face that is not at all nice to look at: · We hated our uncle. He was fat and ugly, with tiny eyes and a long, pointed nose .· An ugly little man came over and offered to buy me a drink.
extremely ugly, especially because you were born with something wrong with you: · In fairy stories the Prince is always very handsome, and the witch hideous.· a man with a hideous twisted lip
very ugly and extremely unpleasant to look at, especially so that people do not like to look at you: · Delia was frightened of the operation, because afterwards she knew she would look repulsive.repulsive to: · The patient's disease was so terrible that his own skin was repulsive to him.
extremely ugly in a strange or unnatural way: · The boy was twisting one side of his face in grotesque imitation of his grandfather.· Suddenly the grotesque figure of the hunchback Quasimodo loomed out of the darkness.
an unsightly spot, mark, hair on your face etc is very unattractive: unsightly scar/fat/mark/spot/hair etc: · The accident left Simon with unsightly scars.· Electrolysis gets rid of unsightly facial hair.
British /she's no Miss America American informal use this as a humorous way of saying that someone is ugly: · "What's Anna's new boyfriend like?" "Well, he's nice, but he's no oil painting."
not good-looking not nice to look at - use this as a less direct way of saying someone is unattractive: · He's a nice guy, but not very good-looking.
not nice to look at and not sexually attractive in a physical way: · Like many teenage girls, she was worried that she was unattractive.· He wasn't a particularly attractive man, but there was something about him that women liked.find somebody unattractive (=think that someone is unattractive): · She was crazy about Carl, and couldn't understand why we found him unattractive.
someone who is plain , especially a woman, is not ugly but is not at all good-looking: · Catherine, who had been rather plain as a child, was now an attractive young woman.· Miles was the plain one in an otherwise good-looking family.
American someone who is homely is not at all good-looking: · The waitress was a homely girl from Kansas.· Brad was a serious boy, very ordinary-looking but not downright homely.
if you say that someone is not much to look at , you mean that they are not good-looking, especially when other things about them are attractive: · Edward's not much to look at, but he has a great personality.
object/building etc very unpleasant to look at: · Local residents think that the new shopping centre is one of the ugliest buildings in the city.· The room was bare except for a few pieces of ugly furniture.
something that is unsightly is unpleasant to look at, and spoils the appearance of the things around it: · Bushes and plants make the perfect screen for unsightly objects such as dustbins.· Tight bras and knickers can cause unsightly bulges under close-fitting clothes.
not at all pleasant to look at: · The town is surrounded by large, unattractive housing estates that nobody wants to live in.· Wearing an unattractive blouse and old-fashioned skirt, Lisa looked older than she was.
extremely ugly: · One of our wedding presents was a hideous clock.· Emma was wearing an absolutely hideous purple and orange dress.
something that is revolting is so ugly that you do not like to look at it: · Remember that three piece suite Mrs Killeen had? It was grey and mustard. It was absolutely revolting!· Who's that TV presenter who always wears those revolting sweaters?
a very large ugly building or object: · I rented a Spanish-style monstrosity in Beverly Hills while my apartment was redecorated.· This building is another monstrosity celebrated as a brilliant piece of architecture.
a large and very ugly building that you cannot avoid seeing: · They built a huge office block right next to the old cathedral - what an eyesore!· Intended to be the world's largest casino, it now stands as an eyesore near the big tourist and convention hotels of New Orleans.
British something that spoils the view, especially an ugly building: · The container site at North Farm is a real blot on the landscape.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Nick’s dog is as ugly as sin (=very ugly). There were ugly scenes as rival gangs started attacking each other. an ugly incidentCOLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Something scared him. Probably your ugly mug!
Nick’s dog is as ugly as sin (=very ugly). There were ugly scenes as rival gangs started attacking each other. an ugly incident Something scared him. Probably your ugly mug! (=a rumour about something bad)· Ugly rumours persisted that there had been a cover-up.
(=unattractive)· The ugly scar spoiled and distorted his face.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Late Victorian Holocausts is as ugly as it is compelling.· What was beautiful they regard as ugly, and the other way around.· Suffering, commonly seen as ugly and distorting, stirred emotions in him that brought the word beauty to his lips.· The beetle: As ugly as the toad; he wanted to marry Thumbelina.· The porter's speech disappears, for example; and Malcolm is at least as ugly and graceless as the tyrant he replaces.· He came to the door looking twice as ugly as usual.· Only some one as ugly as I am could love me.· Photography, he protested, has unfortunately introduced into art a misconception of perspective which is as ugly as it is false.
· Some of the shapes are really rather ugly although the decoration is usually charming in its detail.· Mr Thomlinson had made a rather ugly rockery out of it.
· It looked really ugly and beautiful at the same time.· Because it could have been really ugly.· That was when everything could have got really ugly if the man hadn't sided with her.
· One did not need to know why the ovens were so ugly, so very ugly.· They looked so ugly to her and it all reminded her of Jack.· But it's so ugly I can't actually bring myself to drive it.· Perhaps we are fond of her just because she is so ugly and utilitarian.· Yet even the gashes were not so ugly as the expensive boat that had caused them.· She was so ugly I took a picture of her every chance I got.· He was so clever ... and so ugly.
· But was he really too ugly, as some said, to be anything but a saint?· The roads may have iced over, the rain may be too ugly to face.· But he rejected her: too ugly.
· They are remarkably functional workhorses, two stroke, solid and very ugly.· I was very ugly, very very ugly.· So I obeyed John's order and approached his armchair, thinking how very ugly his face was.· I was very ugly, very very ugly.· My new sister is a disgusting colour and very ugly.· Slung over my shoulder, I carry a new, very large, very ugly black handbag.· Fists were thrown and for a while things began to get very ugly.· So the princess began to think that he really enjoyed being a monster and very ugly.
NOUN· It's certainly the ugly duckling of the era-until you get to drive one.· An ugly duckling, like a printing press, was transformed into a well-behaved goose laying golden eggs.· But Beryl is an ugly duckling rapidly turning into a beautiful swan ... all through the hard work of recovering mental patients.· However, roses are not swans, and all too often ugly ducklings remain ugly ducklings.· The loco is a bit of an ugly duckling.
· Abdullahi was a small, slender, restless man with quick, vigilant eyes and an engagingly ugly face.· The soldier whose ugly face I had glimpsed on wakening punched me in the mouth.· I recognised them, for Hughie had the same ugly face as his father and brother.· He's got a squashed-up ugly face like a baboon.· Jinkwa stared down at the creature's ugly face.· No one who had seen Canon Grindal's ugly face and then heard his beautiful chord-like voice could ever forget.· He could not live in the outside world, because of his terrible, ugly face.· I'd know that ugly face anywhere.
· Clubs lost their authority and control of players when money reared its ugly head.· In addition, politics has reared its ugly head, all institutional efforts not withstanding.· The spectre of restraint of trade rears its ugly head.· It rears its ugly head every time a similar shooting occurs at another school.· Unfortunately the same could not be said of the bad weather ruling which reared its ugly head too often.· Hence the double bind attached to being appropriately feminine rears its ugly head again.· Another problem will begin to raise its ugly head, in the form of parasites.· At Hubbard Woods Elementary an even more graphic example of the troubled world our children face reared its ugly head.
· Nevertheless, there had been some ugly incidents.
· He was a stock irritant, an ugly man in a shabby dressing gown over a stained shirt.· Shallow men, ugly men, stupid men.
· Rubbing his cheekbones in slow circles, he winces with pain at the sight of his own ugly mug.
· There would, I imagine, have been an ugly scene.· Police were anxious to avoid the ugly scenes when the two boys made their first appearance in court nine days ago.· The ugly scenes scared the holiday crowds away.· There were a number of ugly scenes behind the Southend goal before police stepped in.· But there were more ugly scenes last night.· Any photographer that caught their eye were pushed away with threats, and ugly scenes between these rioters and other protestors ensued.· He once confronted three baiters but after an ugly scene with them he advises people not to do the same.· But Aspinall's goal sparked ugly scenes.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► as miserable/ugly/guilty as sin
1extremely unattractive and unpleasant to look at SYN hideous OPP beautiful: - An ugly duckling, like a printing press, was transformed into a well-behaved goose laying golden eggs.
- But Beryl is an ugly duckling rapidly turning into a beautiful swan ... all through the hard work of recovering mental patients.
- However, roses are not swans, and all too often ugly ducklings remain ugly ducklings.
- It's certainly the ugly duckling of the era-until you get to drive one.
- The loco is a bit of an ugly duckling.
- And here's where the question of spec lists raises its head.
- Another problem will begin to raise its ugly head, in the form of parasites.
- At Hubbard Woods Elementary an even more graphic example of the troubled world our children face reared its ugly head.
- Clubs lost their authority and control of players when money reared its ugly head.
- Hence the double bind attached to being appropriately feminine rears its ugly head again.
- In addition, politics has reared its ugly head, all institutional efforts not withstanding.
- It rears its ugly head every time a similar shooting occurs at another school.
- One which is likely to rear its ugly head continually during this piece.
- The spectre of restraint of trade rears its ugly head.
- Unfortunately the same could not be said of the bad weather ruling which reared its ugly head too often.
a very ugly man the ugliest building in town Nick’s dog is as ugly as sin (=very ugly).2used to describe a situation which is very bad or violent, and which makes you feel frightened or threatened: There were ugly scenes as rival gangs started attacking each other. an ugly incident3ugly ideas, feelings, remarks etc are unpleasant: Jealousy is an ugly emotion. ugly rumors4ugly duckling someone who is less attractive, successful etc than other people, but who becomes beautiful and successful later—ugliness noun [uncountable]THESAURUSugly very unpleasant to look at – used about people, objects, and buildings: · She thinks she's ugly but she's not.· an ugly block of flats· cheap ugly furnitureunattractive not pleasant to look at. Unattractive sounds more formal and less strong than ugly: · an unattractive modern town which was built during the 1960s· Women found him unattractive.unsightly formal not pleasant to look at, and spoiling the appearance of something: · Unsightly red spots started to appear on her face.· The windows have been blocked off with unsightly metal bars.extremely uglyhideous extremely ugly: · His hideous face twisted into a smile.· a hideous concrete shopping centre· a hideous monsterrepulsive extremely ugly, especially in a way that makes you want to look away: · His appearance was so repulsive he had to wear a mask.grotesque extremely ugly in a strange or unnatural way: · A grotesque figure appeared out of the darkness.an eyesore (also a blot on the landscape) noun [singular] something that is so ugly that it spoils the appearance of an area: · Local residents regard the new office building as an eyesore.· I think wind turbines are a blot on the landscape - why can't people just use less electricity?