1
as in unpleasant
not giving pleasure to the mind or senses
Sunday night is often spoiled by the unlovely thought of having to go back to school or work the next morning
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2
as in ugly
unpleasant to look at
an unlovely but efficient little machine
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unlovely
And this was something that goes by the very unlovely acronym of a BVLOS flight.
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IEEE Spectrum, 17 Apr. 2024
The insights are persuasive, but the language is decidedly unlovely.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
And especially the heady years after reunification, when a global generation of designers and D.J.s reestablished the unlovely city as Europe’s beating heart.
—Jason Farago, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2024
The song is unlovely and jagged, the melody’s sweetness repeatedly punctured by the squawks of their habitual bickering.
—Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for unlovely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unlovely
Adjective
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Using a speaker outside the stall results in reverb and echoing as the music bounces around the bathroom walls, making the sound muddy and unpleasant.—
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Given the lack of gravity, even a runny nose can turn into an extremely unpleasant experience, forcing astronauts to resort to unusual measures just to drain mucus from their nasal passages.—
Adjective
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Not because the moms themselves are toxic people, but because the dynamic shifts into an ugly place with mean-girl behavior.—
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Sure, coach Mike Tomlin's teams tend to win ugly games, but not in the playoffs — at least not lately.—
Adjective
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Smears on non-sensor areas of the tiara are like bug debris on your hood, aesthetically unpleasing but not harmful.—
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His side's inability to finish off the game against Burnley on the other hand was very unpleasing.—
Adjective
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Such jars of moldy fruit were probably fairly hideous to consume.—
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The Rodents of Unusual Size that attack Westley in a swamp work because they are played by small men in rodent suits, rather than coolly conjured from pixels; their deliberate artifice is the thrill, and Reiner provided the voice for their hideous snorts.—
Adjective
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Bipartisan harsh criticism Senators from both sides of the aisle blasted the investigation.—
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Common exfoliators and fine line-eliminators like retinol and glycolic acid are too harsh on my skin, but this serum utilizes lactic acid, which is far more gentle but just as potent.—
Adjective
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The grotesque charade didn’t seem to belong to this world.—
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Dazzled by their self-image as humanity’s philanthropic guides, they were doomed to reprise the grotesque logic of slave camps under the flag of freedom.—
Adjective
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Iran is facing its worst drought in decades, raising fears of evacuations in Tehran while threatening the regime’s stability and nuclear ambitions, according to a leading environmental expert.—
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Keeping bad things out of my body.—
Adjective
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The growth of passive investing, through index funds found in the 401(k) accounts of average Americans, has propped up the stock market while also potentially setting it up for a nasty fall.—
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Instead of this stuff that's raised overseas that's done in ways that doesn't have any checks, that it's got polluted water, it's being fed really nasty stuff, full of antibiotics, full of chemicals.—
Cite this Entry
“Unlovely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlovely. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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