1
as in hideous
unpleasant to look at
her first attempt at painting was pretty ugly—a portrait of her sister that was not at all flattering
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disgusting
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
an ugly suggestion for controlling the overpopulation of deer in the area
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ugly
A number of Panther players told their families not to come, due to Philadelphia fans’ ugly reputation.
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Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 6 Jan. 2026
Though both sides reached a settlement in November, the conflict was an ugly sign of how solidarity between these organizations crumbled in an attempt to persevere.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2026
There is winning ugly, and there is delivering a victory while looking like Freddy Krueger.
—Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 4 Jan. 2026
That’s how ugly of a performance the Knicks—with both Karl-Anthony Towns (illness) and Mitchell Robinson (load management) sidelined — put on in their 110-99 loss at home on Friday, their second in a row following Wednesday’s loss in San Antonio to the Spurs.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ugly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ugly
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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The medical ordeals are traumatic and disgusting, but fascinating and full of the quirks of modern life.—
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Having snow, slush, and (eventually) water all over my floors was a disgusting feeling.—
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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The Hoosiers, of course, are the prime example of a longtime awful football program rising to the top.—
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Mamdani hasn’t had time yet to flesh out his awful, socialist ideas into real policies that adversely affect New Yorkers.—
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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Are there horrible smells wafting around?—
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Jimmy Kimmel was horrible, and some of these people.—
Adjective
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Accelerating the vicious cycle, businesses, aware that the state is unattractive to families, are then further incentivized to either leave or not expand their business to California.—
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For instance, there’s a difference between wanting a bikini wax so that body hair doesn’t show during swim team meets, and wanting one because hairless models on Instagram convinced them their pubic hair is unattractive.—
Adjective
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Oil is a 20th century energy source, outmoded and responsible for sickening and killing millions of people with the potential to kill millions more.—
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When this sickening sensation happens, the nervous system releases a chemical messenger called substance P, which then binds to receptors in the brain that activate the vomiting reflex — specifically neurokinin-1, or NK-1, receptors.—
Cite this Entry
“Ugly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ugly. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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