# ugly

/ˈəɡɫi/ (US) · /ˈʌɡli/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/ugly
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. unpleasant to look at

adjective · CEFR A2

not beautiful or pleasant to look at.

For teachers: aesthetically displeasing or unattractive to the eye.

- The old factory was an ugly building made of grey concrete.
- The city council debated whether to demolish the ugly brutalist structures that dominated the skyline or attempt a costly renovation.

### 2. mean or dangerous

adjective · CEFR B1

unpleasant, mean, or likely to involve violence.

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

- The argument turned ugly when they started shouting at each other.
- The mood in the crowd turned ugly as the protesters realised the police were not going to let them pass the barricade.

### 3. bad-tempered

adjective · CEFR C1 · American English · Dialect

behaving in a mean or angry way.

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

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

Teaching tip: This usage is particularly common in the Southern United States to describe a person's behaviour rather than their appearance.

### 4. an unattractive person

noun · CEFR C2 · Informal · Slang

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

For teachers: a person or object perceived as aesthetically displeasing.

- He felt like a bit of an ugly standing next to the famous models.
- The critic dismissed the new sculpture as a total ugly, claiming it ruined the harmony of the park.

### 5. to make unattractive

verb · CEFR C2 · Informal

to make something look worse or less beautiful.

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

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

## Examples

- The old building was quite ugly before they painted it.
- The argument between the two neighbors turned ugly when they started shouting and making threats.
- While the architecture of the industrial district is undeniably ugly, the efficiency of its layout remains a model for modern logistics hubs.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.