ug·ly

[uhg-lee]
adjective, ug·li·er, ug·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.
(especially of natural phenomena) unpleasant or dangerous: ugly weather; an ugly sea.

Origin:
1200–50; Middle English ugly, uglike < Old Norse uggligr fearful, dreadful, equivalent to ugg(r) fear + -ligr -ly

ug·li·ly, adverb
ug·li·ness, noun
su·per·ug·ly, adjective


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


1. beautiful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To ugly
00:10
Ugly is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Collins
World English Dictionary
ugly (ˈʌɡlɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj , -lier, -liest
1.  of unpleasant or unsightly appearance
2.  repulsive, objectionable, or displeasing in any way: war is ugly
3.  ominous or menacing: an ugly situation
4.  bad-tempered, angry, or sullen: an ugly mood
 
[C13: from Old Norse uggligr dreadful, from ugga fear]
 
'uglily
 
adv
 
'ugliness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

ugly
mid-13c., 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" late 14c. Extended sense of "morally offensive" is attested from
c.1300; that of "ill-tempered" is from 1680s. 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 1570s. 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

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. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Not to go on about it, but my poached eggs are ugly and unpleasant.
They had to continue living and working with the accused and didn't want to
  hear the ugly details.
It's going to be ugly-and potentially fatal to the movement.
When reality is exposed in ugly half-truths, the answer is not to cover them up.
Idioms & Phrases
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