uglyadjective
uk/ˈʌɡ.li/us/ˈʌɡ.li/ugly adjective (NOT ATTRACTIVE)
B1 unpleasant to look at; not attractive:
I think a lot of modern architecture is very ugly.
Yesterday I saw the ugliest baby I've ever seen in my life.
I feel really fat and ugly today.
He was a really unpleasant man and as ugly as sin (= very ugly).
More examples
- This part of the old town has been disfigured by ugly new buildings.
- Concern about the ugly effects of industrialization has led to the greening of many of our cities.
- Most of the furniture is so ugly, you wouldn't give it house-room.
- A screen of trees at the bottom of the garden hid the ugly factory walls.
- He's an ugly bruiser - I wouldn't like to meet him down a dark alley!
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Not attractive to look at
- a blot on the landscape idiom
- back end
- be no oil painting idiom
- be not much to look at idiom
- blowsy
- florid
- ghoulish
- hideously
- horsey
- icky
- inelegant
- look a fright idiom
- look like the back end of a bus idiom
- minger
- putrid
- tasteless
- twee
- ugly duckling
- unappealing
- unappetizing
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ugly adjective (THREATENING)
C2 unpleasant and threatening or violent:
There were ugly scenes outside the stadium.
The demonstration turned ugly when a group of protesters started to throw bottles at the police.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Violent or aggressive
- aggressive
- aggro
- all hell breaks loose idiom
- atrocious
- atrocity
- confrontation
- desperate
- flex your muscles idiom
- forced
- forcible
- frenzied
- gay-basher
- hostile
- running with blood idiom
- sabre-rattling
- savage
- savagely
- savagery
- steep
- steeped in blood idiom
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ugliness
noun [ U ] uk/ˈʌɡ.li.nəs/us/ˈʌɡ.li.nəs/
the ugliness of the buildings