What does "ugly" mean?

1. (unpleasant to look at) not beautiful or pleasant to look at. 2. (mean or dangerous) unpleasant, mean, or likely to involve violence. 3. (bad-tempered) behaving in a mean or angry way. 4. (an unattractive person) a person or thing that is not pleasant to look at. 5. (to make unattractive) to make something look worse or less beautiful.

How do you use "ugly"?

In this sense, the word is often followed by the preposition 'to' when directed at a person. Often functions as a phrasal verb: 'to ugly up'.

ugly

adj. · n. · v.

US //ˈəɡɫi// UK //ˈʌɡli// ug·ly

1 unpleasant to look at (adj.)
A2 Elementary

not beautiful or pleasant to look at.

aesthetically displeasing or unattractive to the eye.

Example

The old factory was an ugly building made of grey concrete.

Example

The city council debated whether to demolish the ugly brutalist structures that dominated the skyline or attempt a costly renovation.
2 mean or dangerous (adj.)
B1 Intermediate

unpleasant, mean, or likely to involve violence.

morally offensive, threatening, or likely to result in conflict or danger.

Example

The argument turned ugly when they started shouting at each other.

Example

The mood in the crowd turned ugly as the protesters realised the police were not going to let them pass the barricade.
- pleasant
- friendly

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3 bad-tempered (adj.)
C1 Advanced American English Dialect

behaving in a mean or angry way.

exhibiting an ill-natured, quarrelsome, or cross-grained temperament.

Example

Don't be so ugly to your sister; she was only trying to help.

Example

He had a reputation for getting ugly after a few drinks, often picking fights with total strangers for no reason.

Usage

In this sense, the word is often followed by the preposition 'to' when directed at a person.

Teacher's tip

This usage is particularly common in the Southern United States to describe a person's behaviour rather than their appearance.
- kind
- sweet
4 an unattractive person (n.)
C2 Proficiency Informal Slang

a person or thing that is not pleasant to look at.

a person or object perceived as aesthetically displeasing.

Example

He felt like a bit of an ugly standing next to the famous models.

Example

The critic dismissed the new sculpture as a total ugly, claiming it ruined the harmony of the park.
- eyesore
5 to make unattractive (v.)
C2 Proficiency Informal

to make something look worse or less beautiful.

to render something aesthetically displeasing; frequently used with the particle 'up'.

Example

The new billboards really ugly up the view of the mountains.

Example

The developers were accused of trying to ugly up the neighbourhood to drive down property prices before buying more land.

Usage

Often functions as a phrasal verb: 'to ugly up'.
- mar
- spoil
- beautify

Origin

Inherited from Middle English ugly, uggely, uglike, borrowed from Old Norse uggligr (“fearful, dreadful, horrible in appearance”), from uggr (“fear, apprehension, dread”) (possibly related to agg (“strife, hate”)), equivalent to ug + -ly. Cognate with Scots ugly, uglie, Icelandic ugglegur. Meaning softened to "very unpleasant to look at" around the late 14th century, and sense of "morally offensive" attested from around 1300. For the meaning development compare Bulgarian грозен (grozen) (< Proto-Slavic grozьnъ), Russian стра́шный (strášnyj) (< Proto-Slavic strašьnъ < straxъ); Latin foedus (< Proto-Indo-European bʰeyh₂-).

Idioms5 entries