Ugly - Definitions from Dictionary.com

11 results for: Ugly

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ug·ly

Audio Help [uhg-lee] Pronunciation Key

–adjective, -li·er, -li·est.

1.	very unattractive or unpleasant to look at; offensive to the sense of beauty; displeasing in appearance.

2.	disagreeable; unpleasant; objectionable: ugly tricks; ugly discords.

3.	morally revolting: ugly crime.

4.	threatening trouble or danger: ugly symptoms.

5.	mean; hostile; quarrelsome: an ugly mood; an ugly frame of mind.

6.	(esp. of natural phenomena) unpleasant or dangerous: ugly weather; an ugly sea.

[Origin: 1200–50; ME ugly, uglike < ON uggligr fearful, dreadful, equiv. to ugg(r) fear + -ligr -ly

]

—Related forms

ug·li·ly, adverb

ug·li·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. ill-favored, hard-featured, uncomely, unsightly, unlovely, homely. 3. base, heinous, vile, monstrous, corrupt. 4. disadvantageous, ominous. 5. surly, spiteful. 6. stormy, tempestuous.

—Antonyms 1. beautiful.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Ugly

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ug·ly Audio Help (ŭg'lē) Pronunciation Key
adj. ug·li·er, ug·li·est

Displeasing to the eye; unsightly.
1. Repulsive or offensive; objectionable: an ugly remark.
2. Chiefly Southern U.S. Rude: Don't be ugly with me.
3. New England Unmanageable. Used of animals, especially cows or horses.
4. Likely to cause embarrassment or trouble: "Public opinion in both nations could take an ugly turn" (George R. Packard).
5. Marked by or inclined to anger or bad feelings; disagreeable: an ugly temper; an ugly scene.
Morally reprehensible; bad.
Threatening or ominous: ugly black clouds.
1. Likely to cause embarrassment or trouble: "Public opinion in both nations could take an ugly turn" (George R. Packard).
2. Marked by or inclined to anger or bad feelings; disagreeable: an ugly temper; an ugly scene.

n. pl. ug·lies Informal
One that is ugly.

[Middle English, frightful, repulsive, from Old Norse uggligr, from uggr, fear.]

ug'li·ly adv., ug'li·ness n.

Synonyms: These adjectives mean offensive to the sense of sight: ugly furniture; a hideous scar; an ill-favored countenance; an unsightly billboard.

The standard sense of the adjective ugly becomes figurative in the common expression an ugly temper. Regional American speech shares this figurative sense and makes it even more specific. In New England ugly as applied to animals, especially large farm animals such as cows and horses, means "balky, hard to manage." In the South, on the other hand, ugly with the specific sense of "rude" is used of persons: Don't be ugly, son. Interestingly, the word clever (senses 4 through 6) follows the same regional pattern as ugly: in New England the specialized senses refer to animals; in the South, to persons.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ugly

c.1250, uglike "frightful or horrible in appearance," from O.N. uggligr "dreadful, fearful," from uggr "fear, apprehension, dread" (perhaps related to agg "strife, hate") + -ligr "-like." Meaning softened to "very unpleasant to look at" c.1375. Extended sense of "morally offensive" is attested from c.1300; that of "ill-tempered" is from 1687. Among words for this concept, ugly is unusual in being formed from a root for "fear, dread." More common is a compound meaning "ill-shaped" (e.g. Gk. dyseides, L. deformis, Ir. dochrud, Skt. ku-rupa). Another Gmc. group has a root sense of "hate, sorrow" (see loath). Verb uglify is attested from 1576. Ugly duckling (1877) is from the story by Hans Christian Andersen, first translated from Danish to English 1846. Ugly American "U.S. citizen who behaves offensively abroad" is first recorded 1958 as a book title.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

ugly
adjective
1.	displeasing to the senses; "an ugly face"; "ugly furniture" [ant: beautiful]
2.	inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace; "a surly waiter"; "an ugly frame of mind" [syn: surly]
3.	morally reprehensible; "would do something as despicable as murder"; "ugly crimes"; "the vile development of slavery appalled them"; "a slimy little liar" [syn: despicable]
4.	provoking horror; "an atrocious automobile accident"; "a frightful crime of decapitation"; "an alarming, even horrifying, picture"; "war is beyond all words horrible"- Winston Churchill; "an ugly wound" [syn: atrocious]

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

ugly

In addition to the idioms beginning with ugly, also see rear its ugly head.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ugly1 [ˈagli] adjective

unpleasant to look at
Example: She is rather an ugly young woman.

Arabic:	قَبيح، بَشٍع
Chinese (Simplified):	丑陋的
Chinese (Traditional):	醜陋的
Czech:	ošklivý
Danish:	grim
Dutch:	lelijk
Estonian:	inetu
Finnish:	ruma
French:	laid
German:	häßlich
Greek:	άσχημος
Hungarian:	csúnya
Icelandic:	ljótur

Italian:	brutto
Japanese:	醜い
Latvian:	neglīts
Lithuanian:	bjaurus
Norwegian:	stygg, heslig
Polish:	brzydki
Portuguese (Portugal):	feio
Russian:	уродливый
Slovak:	škaredý
Slovenian:	grd
Spanish:	feo
Swedish:	ful
Turkish:	çirkin

ugly2 [ˈagli] adjective

unpleasant, nasty or dangerous
Example: ugly black clouds; The crowd was in an ugly mood.

Arabic:	رَديء
Chinese (Simplified):	可怕的
Chinese (Traditional):	可怕的
Czech:	hrozivý
Danish:	grim; ubehagelig
Dutch:	dreigend
Estonian:	ähvardav
Finnish:	uhkaava
French:	menaçant
German:	übel
Greek:	δυσάρεστος, απειλητικός
Hungarian:	kellemetlen
Icelandic:	uggvænlegur

Italian:	minaccioso
Japanese:	嫌な
Latvian:	nejauks; bīstams; draudīgs
Lithuanian:	grėsmingas
Norwegian:	fæl, stygg; truende; ilter
Polish:	groźny
Portuguese (Portugal):	feio
Russian:	грозный; скверный
Slovak:	hrozivý
Slovenian:	neprijeten
Spanish:	desagradable; inquietante; amenazador
Swedish:	ruskig, elak, hotande
Turkish:	berbat

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ugly

Awe\ ([add]), n. [OE. a[yogh]e, aghe, fr. Icel. agi; akin to AS. ege, [=o]ga, Goth. agis, Dan. ave chastisement, fear, Gr. 'a`chos pain, distress, from the same root as E. ail. [root]3. Cf. Ugly.]

1. Dread; great fear mingled with respect. [Obs. or Obsolescent]

His frown was full of terror, and his voice Shook the delinquent with such fits of awe. --Cowper.

2. The emotion inspired by something dreadful and sublime; an undefined sense of the dreadful and the sublime; reverential fear, or solemn wonder; profound reverence.

There is an awe in mortals' joy, A deep mysterious fear. --Keble.

To tame the pride of that power which held the Continent in awe. --Macaulay.

The solitude of the desert, or the loftiness of the mountain, may fill the mind with awe -- the sense of our own littleness in some greater presence or power. --C. J. Smith.

To stand in awe of, to fear greatly; to reverence profoundly.

Syn: See Reverence.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ugly

Ug"le*some\ ([u^]g"'l*s[u^]m), a. [[root]3. See Ugly.] Ugly. [Obs.] "Such an uglesome countenance." --Latimer.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ugly

Ug"ly\, a. [Compar. Uglier; superl. Ugliest.] [Icel. uggligr fearful, dreadful; uggr fear (akin to ugga to fear) + -ligr (akin to E. -ly, like). ??. Cf. Awe.]

1. Offensive to the sight; contrary to beauty; being of disagreeable or loathsome aspect; unsightly; repulsive; deformed.

The ugly view of his deformed crimes. --Spenser.

Like the toad, ugly and venomous. --Shak.

O, I have passed a miserable night, So full of ugly sights, of ghastly dreams. --Shak.

2. Ill-natured; crossgrained; quarrelsome; as, an ugly temper; to feel ugly. [Colloq. U. S.]

3. Unpleasant; disagreeable; likely to cause trouble or loss; as, an ugly rumor; an ugly customer. [Colloq.]

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

UGLY

UGLY: in Acronym Finder

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