uglyadj.adv.n.
/ˈʌɡli/, U.S. /ˈəɡli/ A. adj.† 2.
1. Having an appearance or aspect which causes dread or horror; frightful or horrible, esp. through deformity or squalor. (Now merged in sense A. 3)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of being horrible > [adjective]
atelOE
grislya1150
atelichc1175
grisfula1300
ugly13..
hideous1303
horrible1303
ghastlyc1305
stout1338
horrendc1420
ugsomec1425
grisilc1440
execrable1490
uggle1499
horrious?1520
uglisome1530
ugglesome1561
gruesome1570
grisy1590
gashfulc1600
horrid1602
ghast1622
gashly1627
horrific1653
horrendous1661
horrorous1756
horrifying1791
horrorish1847
grauly1848
α.
β. 1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 11036 Somwhyle, off dyrknesse And off the owgly ffoul thyknesse,..Thow shalt lese the syht off me.c1460 (a1449) J. Lydgate Legend St. Austin (Harl. 2255) l. 279 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 201 Yif he hadde..Seyn that owgly careyn lamentable.1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes 3sig. Biiiv A greate mastyfe dogge and a foule ouglye Beare.1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 835/1 Suddenlie came out..eight wildmen,..with ouglie weapons & terrible visages.1595 W. S. Lamentable Trag. Locrine iii. i. 7 Those ougly diuels of black Erebus, That might torment the damned traitors soule!1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxvi. i. 240 These new~come diseases verely were..so foule and filthie, so loathsome and ougly, that a man would have chosen rather to die..than to bee so disfigured.1633 P. Fletcher Purple Island i. xl. 11 Darknesse headlong fell, Frighted with suddain beams,..And plung'd her ougly head in deepest hell.1640 H. Glapthorne Ladies Priviledge iii. sig. Fiiv But know the shape of Death Is not ougly to me.γ. 13.. Adultery 85 in Herrig Archiv LXXIX. 420 He ledd hym to an hogely hylle; þe erthe openyd & in þei ȝede.c1470 J. Hardyng Chron. cvii. vi. (1543) 107 b Echeon their nose and ouer lippe ful right Cut of anone which was an hougly [v.r. hogly] sight.c1480 (a1400) St. Paul 1151 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 62 Þan come a schadow full hugly, blak & blay, & stud hyme by.1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. iv. C ij There be in it [Ethiopia] dyuers peoples of sondry phisonomy and shape, monstruous and of hugly shewe.1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. iii. xix. f. 95v These foure fyres encreasing by litle and litle so farr at the length extended, that ioyning altogether they grew to a great and houghly flame.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) 2918 Moyseses migtful wond..wurð bi-foren pharaon An Iglic snake sone on-on.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2805 It warp vt of hise hond, And wurð sone an uglike snake.
c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 860 Nathyng es swa ugly, Als here es a mans dede body.
c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 6683 Swylk filthe and stynk es in þat ugly hole.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11606 Þar þai þam thoght to rest and slepe, þar did þai mari for to light, Bot son þai sagh an vgli sight.
1423 Kingis Quair clxii And vnderneth the quhele sawe I there Ane vgly pit, was depe as ony helle.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ii. l. 247 Thai chargyt the geyler..to..bryng him wp out of that ugly sell.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 120 Ȝit may thow be within ane ȝeir Ane vgsum, vglye tramort.
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) iv. sig. F.iiv Agamemnons son:..That sitting found within the temples porche The vglie furies his slaughter to reuenge.
1594 T. Kyd tr. R. Garnier Cornelia ii. 13 Fayne would I die, but darksome vgly Death With-holds his darte, and in disdaine doth flye me.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage viii. vi. 639 The faces of their Priests are painted as vgly as they can deuise.
1643 A. Ross Mel Heliconium (new ed.) 77 His snakie hairs doe shew how uggly he [sc. Cerberus] is in the sight of good men.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 464 O sight Of terrour, foul and ugly to behold, Horrid to think, how horrible to feel! View more context for this quotation
1680 T. Otway Orphan ii. 12 I struck The ugly brindled Monster to the heart.
a1788 T. Russell Sonnets & Misc. Poems (1789) 11 Uglier far than have been feign'd or fear'd, Ten thousand Phantoms to my sight appear'd.
a. Of events, times, etc.: Dreadful, terrible.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > [adjective] > severe
heavya1000
tartc1000
unridec1175
unsoftc1275
uglya1300
smartc1300
sternc1300
cruelc1384
sharpc1386
shrewda1387
snella1400
painousa1450
painlyc1460
sensible1502
terrible1509
heinous?1541
severe1747
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of terribleness > [adjective]
eislichc888
eyesfulOE
awfulc1175
smarta1200
ferlya1225
sternc1275
grisea1300
uglya1300
dreadfula1325
fell?c1335
stout1338
perilousc1380
terriblec1400
ghastfulc1449
timorous1455
epouventable1477
bedreadc1485
dreadablec1490
dreadc1540
buggisha1555
dreaded1556
monster-like1561
dire1567
scareful1567
terrifying1577
scary1582
direful1583
affrighting1592
dismal1594
affrightful1603
diral1606
tirable1607
frighting1619
scaring1641
affrighteninga1651
formidolous1656
terrific1667
terrifical1677
atrocious1733
terrorful1789
orful1845
lurid1850
terrorsome1890
turble1893
timorsome1894
like the wrath of God1936
a1300 Cursor Mundi 22519 Uggeli sal be þe fift dai, Mare þan ani tung can sai.
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter ix. 37 Vgly is it to fall in þere hend, for þou bihaldis þe trauaile and þe sorow þat he has doen till haly men.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 892 Bot þay wern wakned..Of on þe vglokest vnhap þat euer on erd suffred.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xvi. 189 Sich panys hard neuer man tell, For-vgly and for-fell.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David (1823) vi. iii Turn thee, sweete Lord, and from this ougly fall, My deere God, stay me.
1597 J. Payne Royall Exchange 41 This wylie feynd geves not his onsett after his vglie and terrible maner.
b. Of sounds. (Passing into sense A. 6)
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > [adjective]
foula1398
uglyc1400
unsweet1579
absonant1600
teeth-edging1603
horrisonous1631
horrisonant1656
ungrateful1659
common sounding1676
lacerant1785
cacophonous1797
uncadencedc1838
cacophonic1847
unlistenable1872
uneuphonious1880
ineuphonious1887
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxxi. 138 In þis vale er oft tymes herd..voices vggly and hidous.
c1440 York Myst. xxxvii. 101 What! heris þou noȝt þis vggely noyse.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. iv. 31 The Harpyes..voce also was wglie for to heir.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 3701 With an ugli noise, noye for to here, Hit sundrit þere sailes & þere sad ropis.
a1585 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart 503 The cry was sa ouglie, of elfes, aips, and owles.
1594 (a1555) D. Lindsay Hist. Squyer Meldrum l. 738, in Wks. (1931) I. 165 Than rais the reik with vglie crakkis.
1603 G. Owen Descr. Penbrokshire (1892) 249 At certaine tymes there is vgglye and terrible noyses and soundes hard to proceede from the same pitte.
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World i. 95 A vast Multitude of them came down to the Shore, staring at us, and making confused ugly Noises.
3. Offensive or repulsive to the eye; unpleasing in appearance; of disagreeable or unsightly aspect:
a. Of persons.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > ugliness > [adjective]
foulOE
uglyc1386
malgraciousa1393
unsightlya1400
loathc1400
ouglec1415
shrewdc1430
unsightyc1440
unwholesome?a1500
evil-favoured1530
ill-favoured1530
uglisome1530
huggeda1533
hard-favoureda1535
evil-liking1535
ill-favorited1579
stigmatical1589
stigmatic1597
sightlessa1616
hard-featured1638
grislya1681
bad-looking1757
unmackly1765
unfavourable1776
dissightly1777
eyesore1798
wavelled1886
spiderly1891
Plain Jane1912
hackit1985
α.
absolute.1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xii. 214 After having tried in vain [to find a wife], even amongst the pert and the ugly.β. c1400 Rom. Rose 3038 He was so hidous and so oughlye, I mene this that Trespasse hight.c1407 J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte 1934 This lady, Dame hatrede, To-rent and owgly in her wede.1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Mark i. f. 16 Hence with this ougly and abhominable creature.1598 R. Haydocke tr. G. P. Lomazzo Tracte Artes Paintinge ii. 133 Though a woman be faire, merry, and healthy and yet be dishonest, shee must needes seeme most ougly to an ingenuous and honest minde.a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 191 And, as with age, his body ouglier growes, So his minde cankers. View more context for this quotationγ. 1562 W. Bullein Bk. Use Sicke Men f. lxiv, in Bulwarke of Defence Keepe the mouth, teeth, and tongue clene..whych els shalbe corrupted, defiled, and so anoied, that it shalbe..hugely and noisome to the beholders.c1386 G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale 673 This vgly sergeant..Hath hent hire sone þat ful was of beautee.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xvii. 77 Þir wymmen er riȝt blak and vggly to behold.
c1480 (a1400) St. Paul 778 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 51 Þan sperit he [sc. Nero] rycht besyly, gyf þat he wes sa wgly quhen he wes borne.
a1505 R. Henryson Test. Cresseid 372 in Poems (1981) 123 He luikit on hir vglye lipper face, The quhylk befor was quhite as lillie flour.
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. ccviiiv The owgly Mauryans ar also of this sect.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cxxxv If the Frenche Quene, whiche was lame and vgly were dedde,..then waies might bee founde.
1580 H. Gifford Posie of Gilloflowers ii. sig. M.3 An vggly creature all in blacke.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) ii. v. 98 Had'st thou Narcissus in thy face to me, Thou would'st appeere most vgly . View more context for this quotation
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 49 They are the most vgly and impudent Whoores, in all Persia.
a1687 Duke of Buckingham Speech Parliament Dissolved in Wks. (1705) I. 24 Like ugly foolish Children whom because of their Deformity and want of Wit, the Parents are ashamed of.
1717 M. Prior Alma ii. 350 Dames, who Native Beauty want, Still uglier look, the more They paint.
1742 G. Berkeley Let. in Wks. (1871) IV. 286 You would be less zealous were the Queen old and ugly.
1794 S. Williams Nat. & Civil Hist. Vermont 195 They have all the same sallow complexion, deformed features, ugly appearance.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering III. xiv. 264 The fairy bride of Sir Gawaine..was more decrepid probably, and what is commonly called more ugly, than Meg Merrilies.
1858 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 23 Feb. in French & Ital. Notebks. (1980) ii. 101 A very ugly old man indeed, wrinkled, puckered, shrunken.
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul I. viii. xxvii. 540 The ugly Greek who was the noblest of all Greeks.
b. Of animals.
ΚΠ
1444 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 218 The owgly bakke wyl gladly fleen be nyght Dirk cressetys and laumpys that been lyght.
c1480 (a1400) St. Paul 780 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 51 Þat vgly padok þan gert he ta.
a1513 W. Dunbar Flyting in Poems (1998) I. 206 Thow hippit, vgly averill, With hurkland banis holkand throw thy hyd.
1587 G. Turberville Tragicall Tales f. 17 Two monstrous mastyues eke he sawe that ran Close by her side, two vgly curres they were.
1614 J. Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue ii. 175 Millions of millions of foule Frogs hee makes To cover Memphis with their ougly Frie.
1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. 102 16 I cannot tell by what Logick we call a Toad, a Beare, or an Elephant, ugly . View more context for this quotation
1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. ii. ii. 59 The Monkies that are in these Parts are the ugliest I ever saw.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 355 In quadrupedes, the smallest animals are noxious, ugly and loathsome.
c. In miscellaneous uses.
ΚΠ
α.
β. c1555 W. Baldwin & T. Palfreyman Treat. Moral Philos. (new ed.) v. v. sig. L.iiiiv Wherwith..the figure of man is as it were by inchauntment, transformed into an ouglye and lothsome ymage.1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades x. 181 This Dolon was of ougly shape.1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne vii. cxvi. 140 Heau'ns glorious lampe wrapt in an ouglie vaile Of shadowes darke.1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue 222 Without the aid and industrie of a skilfull husband, fairest grounds will become ougly.a1400 Seuyn Sages (W.) 2782 With lang noses and mowthes wide, And vgly eres on ether syde.
?a1400 Morte Arth. 1086 Erne had he fulle huge, and vgly to schewe, Wiþ eghne fulle horreble.
c1440 York Myst. xi. 265 Full vgly and full ill is it, Þat was ful faire and fresshe before.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cix. f. xlix Such an vngly nombre of multytude of Monkes.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. i. f. 52 Although we graunt that the Image of God was not altogether defaced and blotted out in him, yet was it so corrupted, that all that remaineth, is but vggly deformitie.
1577 D. Settle True Rep. Voy. Frobisher sig. Cv For her ougly hewe and deformitie, we let her goe.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies v. xii. 360 They entred backward to their idol, and so went bending their bodies and head, after an vglie manner.
1680 C. Ness Compl. Church-hist. 122 An ugly image, half a fish and half a man.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 26 The streets of Constantinople are very ugly, being for the most part narrow, crooked, up-hill and down-hill.
1763 J. Brown Diss. Poetry & Music xiii. 227 (note) May not the Voice and Figure of a distressed or joyous Object be so..ridiculous or ugly, as..to destroy the Sympathy of those who hear and see it?
1804 M. Edgeworth Manufacturers i, in Pop. Tales II. 294 She made him pronounce an absurd eulogium on the ugliest thing in the room.
1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate I. i. 9 The house itself was an ugly residence..built in the time of George II.
1875 J. P. Hopps Princ. Relig. (1878) i. 6 Even poor savages who have never been taught any better, cling to an ugly idol,..rather than be without a god at all.
d. In figurative contexts.
ΚΠ
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 246 Thynke of goddys presence, and be raysed to heuen be holy thouȝt. Þanne se þe world foul & vggly, voyde of al goodnes.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Erasmus in Panoplie Epist. 339 An infinite number, whose malice is infected with many a foule and ougly disease.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) v. sig. Qq2 While each conceate, an ouglie figure beares.
1601 R. Yarington Two Lamentable Trag. sig. C3 Where shall we hide this trumpet of your shame, This timelesse ougly map of crueltie?
1615 J. Castle in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) I. 378 Those holy men..had made him see this fearful error, and the ugly face of his sin.
1663 W. Davenant Siege of Rhodes: 2nd Pt. iv. 40 Amazement is the uggli'st shape of fear.
1884 Congregationalist Jan. 14 The honest man must allow that there are ugly truths and lies with beautiful faces.
e. ugly duckling n. a young person who shows no promise of the beauty, success, etc., that will come with maturity (in allusion to the story by Hans Andersen first translated into English in 1846). Also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > young person > [noun] > specific
pregnancy1599
young fogey1834
ugly duckling1885
screenager1959
1871 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch (1872) I. Prel. p. vii Here and there a cygnet is reared uneasily among the ducklings.
1877 M. W. Chapman in H. Martineau Autobiogr. II. 151 Those early days..when she seems to have been like the ‘ugly duckling’ of Hans Christian Andersen.]
1885 A. Edwardes Girton Girl I. xiv. 258 As a girl she never went through that chrysalis or ugly-duckling stage.
1927 M. Sadleir Trollope: Comm. 138 He [sc. Trollope] rose in the hierarchy of the Post Office... His ugly-duckling days were done.
1934 G. B. Shaw Too True to be Good Pref. 10 When one of their ugly ducklings becomes a revolutionist it is not because countryhouse life is idle, but because its activities are uncongenial.
1940 V. W. Brooks New England: Indian Summer xxi. 440 He had grown up in a Boston family, a strange, alien, lonely child, a duckling, far from ugly, in whom perceptive eyes foresaw the swan.
1963 B. Friedan Feminine Mystique xiv. 356 The feminine mystique..often forced the unhappy ones, the ugly ducklings, to find themselves while the girls who fitted the image became adjusted ‘happy’ housewives.
1977 D. Ramsay You can't call it Murder i. 49 A big, gawky ugly duckling like me.
1978 Nature 26 Jan. 303/3 Mass spectrometers have been something of an ugly duckling in magnetospheric research. Initially too heavy, magnetically dirty and ill suited for hot plasma measurements, they have come of age and are now invited to all the best satellite projects.
1982 M. Hinxman Telephone never Tells xviii. 134 The ugly duckling gawkiness of her youth had matured and mellowed.
4.
a. Morally offensive or repulsive; base, degraded, loathsome, vile. In later use also in weaker sense: Offending against propriety; highly objectionable.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > heinousness > [adjective]
awlyc1200
grievousa1300
grilla1300
uglya1300
strongc1300
outrageousa1325
heinousc1374
excessive1393
curseda1400
fella1400
misshapenc1400
rankc1400
monstruousc1425
enorm1481
prodigiousc1487
villainous1489
nefand1490
sceleratea1513
monstrous1531
funestal1538
enormious1545
facinorous1548
flagitious1550
dire1567
bonable1575
felonious1575
bomination1589
unvenial?1589
heathenish1592
enormous1593
villainous1598
nameless1611
pitchy1612
funest1636
funestous1641
scarleta1643
nefandous1649
aversable1663
atrocious1669
frightful1700
flagrant1706
atrocea1734
diabolical1750
unspeakable1831
society > morality > moral evil > [adjective] > morally repulsive
uglya1300
misshapenc1400
deformed1555
slimy1575
squalida1660
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > [adjective] > improper
unjustc1443
graceless1562
ill1586
ugly1594
incorrect1672
paw-paw1723
improper1739
unproper1797
pah1835
society > morality > dueness or propriety > moral impropriety > [adjective]
unbecomelyc1200
uncomelyc1230
unseemlya1300
unsetec1325
unseemly1338
unconablea1340
unseeminga1340
uncovenablec1374
unsitting1390
undue1398
ungainanda1400
unseemc1425
unjustc1443
unconvenient1450
unsoundablec1450
unhonestc1503
inconvenienta1513
mis-seeminga1522
unconvenable1542
undecent1546
graceless1562
unsetting1567
indecent1570
misbecoming1589
misbeseeming1589
uncouth1589
unbeseeming1593
seemless1596
unbecoming1598
unbefitting1598
wry1601
disbecominga1639
unbeseemly1648
improper1739
ugly1879
α.
β. 1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. To Rdr. sig. bv Surely of all Sathans delusions wrought by him in the hearts of vnbeleeuers, this monstrous error of Atheisme is most ougly.?1594 H. Constable Diana (new ed.) iii. ii. sig. C3v Like catife wretch by time and trauell taught, His ougly ills in others good to hide.1602 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) xiii. lxxvii. 320 Wherein were acted ouglier things than to be found mong'st Beasts.1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Landie deschiquetée, an ouglie nickname for an ouerridden Hackney (or Harlot).a1300 Cursor Mundi 1106 Þai thoght þat kynd him mond for-bede To haf don suilk an ogli dede.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 27612 Þai þat sua vgli athes suers, wonder es hou þis erth þam bers.
c1340 R. Rolle Prose Treat. 33 A full forsakynge of..syne and of unclennes, with a gastely syghte of it how foule how vggly and how paynfull þat it es.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 142 On a tyme þer was a scoler at Parissh, þat had done many vglie syn.
1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. i. 62 Sight of ouglie sinne lodging still in mee..will make mee praise his name.
1608 A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum 393 The most vile monstrous and vgely sinnes.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 199 Tokens that God was grievously offended with such ugly deeds.
a1658 J. Cleveland Rustick Rampant in Wks. (1687) 431 An abominable Ceremony, which had made their Impiety more ugly.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. iii. xi. 186 Is it not..an ugly System in which you can suppose no Law and prove no Duty?
1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. v. 110 But cutting throats in a churchyard Is something new, and 'tis an ugly practice.
1879 ‘G. Eliot’ Theophrastus Such vi. 128 I cannot consider such courses any the less ugly because they are ascribed to ‘temper’.
1894 C. H. Simpkinson Life & Times W. Laud vi. 118 Gentlemen..who were sentenced to..do public penance in their own parish church for ugly acts of immorality.
b. Ugly (or ugly) American (in allusion to the title of the book: see quot. 1958), an American who behaves offensively abroad.
ΚΠ
1958 W. J. Lederer & E. L. Burdick (title) The ugly American.
1965 Atlantic May 152 A host of odd and funny foreigners: bogus Russian counts, semi-aristocratic Slavic ladies, German officers, and an early type of the ugly American abroad.
1968 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 9 Mar. 76 I don't think we were Ugly Americans; perhaps just unaware, or Unlettered.
1980 D. Williams Murder for Treasure x. 100 That awful man..thinks you're swinging the deal and he needs Edgar to blow it by acting the Ugly American.
5. Offensive or unpleasant to the smell or taste; noisome, nasty.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > unsavouriness > [adjective]
uglyc1540
grievous1578
naughty1578
unrelishable1603
unrelishing1611
unsapory1638
insapory1665
the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > fetor > [adjective]
foul-stinkingOE
poignantc1387
rammishc1395
rank1479
reekya1500
puanta1529
unsavoury1539
uglyc1540
contagious1547
noisome1559
fulsome1576
fetid1599
nasty1601
unsweet1605
rammy1607
stenchful1615
stinkardly1616
rancid1627
reeking1629
pungent1644
olidous1646
stenching1654
graveolent1657
maleolent1657
virous1661
olid1680
ranciduous1688
feculent1703
virose1756
stenchy1757
infragrant1813
inodorous1823
nosy1836
malodorous1850
unfragrant1858
smelly1862
cacodorous1863
stinky1888
funked out1893
niffya1903
whiffy1905
pongy1936
fresh1966
minging1970
bogging1973
bowfing1983
honking1985
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 8732 How the korse might be keppit..likyng to se; And not orible, ne vgly of odir to fele.
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) i. xxviii. 70 Stinking things have filthy and ugly Vapors.
1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner ii. vi. iii. 148 Those kinds of rotten Dung are accompanied with an unpleasing smell that infects the Plants raised upon such Beds, and gives them an ugly Taste.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) II. 43 It yields an ugly stench in burning.
1712 W. Rogers Cruising Voy. 149 The Wind always blowing fresh over the Land, brought an ugly noisom Smell aboard from the Seals ashore.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda I. i. x. 178 Archery has no ugly smell of brimstone.
6.
a. Offensive to refined taste or good feelings; objectionable, disagreeable, unpleasant, not nice.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > bad taste > [adjective]
untasteful1618
ugly1621
tasteless1676
low-browed1782
styleless1796
unaesthetic1832
inaesthetic1846
tacky1862
bad taste1895
ticky-tacky1969
cheeseball1993
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. iv. i. 272 In the midst of these squalid, vgly, and such irksome dayes, they seek at last..to be eased of all by death.
1697 tr. Countess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 126 I thought it very ugly, that an Old Woman such as that was which I saw there, should come and spurt Water out of her Mouth, in my Face.
1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. xi. 199 When a Man might reasonably believe that less than a universal Defection of three Nations, could not have reduced a great King to so ugly a fate.
1721 Coll. Polit. Lett. London Jrnl. 1720 48 It would be very pleasant, if it were not for the Abuse and ugly Language you meet with.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 204 They call'd me..to an ugly and dangerous Office.
1754 W. Goodall Exam. Lett. Mary Q. Scots I. i. 33 To affirm that it was to be found there, when it is not, has an extreme ugly aspect.
1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London III. iii. 128 The idea of having a daughter of sufficient age to be presented carries with it..an ugly memento of the age of her mother.
1874 ‘Max Adeler’ Out of Hurly-burly xiv. (Rtldg.) 176 With an ugly word upon his lips, he sprang from his seat.
1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men II. v. 18 The one person who comes out of that strife with an ugly stain upon his shield..was the Prime Minister.
b. Causing disquiet or discomfort; of a very troublesome or awkward nature.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > [adjective] > causing
unrestfulc1384
uneasy1483
uneaseful1515
unquiet1534
turmoiling?1550
perturbing1559
disquieting1576
disturbing1594
uncomfortable1599
tumultuous1604
disturbanta1617
disquietous1619
perturbatious1630
ugly1645
discomposing1663
unsettling1665
disquietfula1677
disordering1744
disconcerting?1749
pothering1817
disturbative1842
unsteadying1865
upsetting1872
shattering1924
off-putting1935
neuralgic1977
1645 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1904) I. 328 Sir Ralph replies at great length about ‘this ugly business’.
1661 A. Marvell Let. 3 Jan. in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 15 The last of Dec: here was an ugly false report got abroad that his Majesty was stabbd.
1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd i. 105 After things have been laid with all the depth of humane Policy, there happens lightly some ugly little contrary Accident.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 11 Fearing that the Galleys..might serve him some ugly trick, he caused the Entry of it to be stopt up.
1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 13 Jan. (1948) I. 163 I had an ugly giddy fit last night in my chamber.
1751 Affecting Narr. H.M.S. Wager 17 For the more expeditiously retrieving this ugly Accident, the Commodore ordered several Carpenters on board her.
1792 E. Burke Let. to H. Langrishe in Wks. (1842) I. 550 It is putting things into the position of an ugly alternative, into which I hope in God they never will be put.
1826 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey I. ii. xii. 173 A vicious horse, which he was endeavouring to cure of some ugly tricks.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. xiii. 285 My Lord Mohun (of whose exploits and fame some of the gentlemen of the University had brought down but ugly reports).
1890 Spectator 19 Apr. The Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs..admitted some ugly facts.
7.
a. Somewhat hazardous or perilous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective]
plightlyOE
wothea1300
perilousc1300
wickeda1375
plightfula1400
dreadfulc1400
parlous?a1425
shrewd1482
danger1488
dangerous1490
periculous1533
dangerful1548
dangersome1567
craggy1582
perilsome1593
endangering1601
unsafe1621
imperilous1645
ugly1654
warm1726
neck-break1756
wanchancy1768
uncanny1785
unchancy1786
nasty1828
unhealthy1915
windy1919
1654 E. Nicholas Papers (1892) II. 45 I know it is an ugly time to mention goeing into England.
1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 21 Jan. (1948) I. 171 It is very ugly walking, a baker's boy broke his thigh yesterday.
1889 in Eng. Dial. Dict.
b. Suggestive of trouble or danger.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adjective] > suggestive of danger
doubtfulc1400
ugly1660
1660 Exact Accompt Trial Regicides 161 I was in the hall when that ugly Proclamation was proclaimed.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 47 They..let fall some ugly dangerous Words.
1780 W. Cowper Let. 4 Mar. (1979) I. 321 A long Preface, such as mine, is an ugly Symptom, & always forebodes great Sterility in the following Pages.
1801 H. Lee Canterbury Tales IV. 376 I had an ugly presentiment of what was to be the subject of our conversation.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. (1856) xxix. 244 Poor Sir John Franklin! this night-drift is an ugly omen.
1888 E. E. Money Little Dutch Maiden 133 You think this looks ugly, but..a stern chase is a long chase.
c. Of the weather, sea, etc.: Unpleasantly or dangerously rough, stormy, or boisterous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > state of sea > [adjective] > rough
woodc900
drofc1000
bremea1300
scaldinga1300
sharp1377
wrothc1400
welteringc1420
rude?a1439
wawishc1450
wallya1522
robustuousa1544
troublesome1560
turbulent1573
boisterous?1594
lofty1600
enridged1608
hollow1705
ugly1744
testy1833
topping1857
seething1871
troughy1877
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > [adjective] > stormy
reigheOE
stormya1200
wilda1250
troublec1374
rougha1400
stormishc1430
rude?a1439
boistous1470
troublous1482
wair?a1500
tempestuous1509
blusterous1548
rugged1549
stormful1558
troublesome1560
turbulent1573
ruggy1577
rufflered1582
oragious?1590
boisterous?1594
broily1594
unruly1594
procellousa1629
gurly1718
coarse1774
ugly1844
1744 London Mag. 143 But little Wind, and an ugly Swell.
1781 Archer in Naval Chron. (1804) 11 289 Hold fast! that was an ugly sea... Another ugly sea: sent a Midshipman to bring news from the pumps.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxxv. 437 It is blowing harder, and an ugly head sea is running.
1844 A. W. Kinglake Eothen xvii. 265 With an ugly, black sky above, and an angry sea beneath.
1847 A. Smith Christopher Tadpole (1848) xxiii. 207 The flashes of lightning..shewed that it was going to be an ugly night.
1900 J. H. Harris Our Cove ii. 14 You know the weather is going to be ‘ugly’, which means anything from tricky to downright bad.
d. ugly customer, a person who is likely to cause trouble, or be difficult to deal with.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > [noun] > insubordinate person > intractable person
repugnant1625
Tartar1669
ugly customer1811
recalcitrant1825
non-compliant1854
intractable1883
non-cooperator1896
hardcore1916
badman1954
badass1956
banduluc1977
1811 Sporting Mag. 38 56 He is a very ugly customer.
1819 Metropolis (ed. 2) I. 241 Coachee, you've picked up an ugly customer there.
1844 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit xliii. 500 In such a cause you will find me, my young sir, an Ugly Customer!
1884 E. Yates Recoll. & Experiences II. 207 The tone of the letter was exceedingly offensive and dictatorial, and it was evident that he was a very ugly customer.
e. the ugly man, the actual perpetrator of an act of garroting, as distinguished from his two accomplices. (Cf. nasty adj. Compounds 1.)
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > capital punishment > [noun] > one who garrottes
garrotter1859
the ugly man1888
1888 in Cassell's Encycl. Dict. VII.
8.
a. Cross, angry, ill-tempered.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > [adjective]
irrec825
gramec893
wemodc897
wrothc950
bolghenc1000
gramelyc1000
hotOE
on fireOE
brathc1175
moodyc1175
to-bollenc1175
wrethfulc1175
wraw?c1225
agrameda1300
wrathfula1300
agremedc1300
hastivec1300
irousa1340
wretheda1340
aniredc1350
felonc1374
angryc1380
upreareda1382
jealous1382
crousea1400
grieveda1400
irefula1400
mada1400
teena1400
wraweda1400
wretthy14..
angryc1405
errevousa1420
wrothy1422
angereda1425
passionatec1425
fumous1430
tangylc1440
heavy1452
fire angry1490
wrothsomea1529
angerful?1533
wrothful?1534
wrath1535
provoked1538
warm1547
vibrant1575
chauffe1582
fuming1582
enfeloned1596
incensed1597
choleric1598
inflameda1600
raiseda1600
exasperate1601
angried1609
exasperated1611
dispassionate1635
bristlinga1639
peltish1648
sultry1671
on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672
nangry1681
ugly1687
sorea1694
glimflashy1699
enraged1732
spunky1809
cholerous1822
kwaai1827
wrathy1828
angersome1834
outraged1836
irate1838
vex1843
raring1845
waxy1853
stiff1856
scotty1867
bristly1872
hot under the collar1879
black angry1894
spitfire1894
passionful1901
ignorant1913
hairy1914
snaky1919
steamed1923
uptight1934
broigus1937
lemony1941
ripped1941
pissed1943
crooked1945
teed off1955
ticked off1959
ripe1966
torqued1967
bummed1970
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > ill-naturedness > [adjective]
stour1303
thwarta1325
elvishc1386
wrawc1386
wrawfulc1386
crabbeda1400
crousea1400
cursedc1400
doggeda1425
currishc1460
disagreeable1474
dour1488
thrawn1488
terne?1507
apirsmarta1522
crustyc1570
incommodious1570
bilious1571
mischievous-stomached1577
thrawn-faced1578
thrawn-mowit1578
wearisha1586
shrewish1596
rhubarbative1600
crabbish1606
ill-tempereda1616
cur-like1627
thrawn-faceda1628
terned1638
cross1639
splenial1641
frumpish1647
wry1649
bad-tempered1671
hot-tempered1673
sidy1673
ugly1687
ornery1692
cankerya1699
ramgunshoch1721
cantankerousc1736
frumpy1746
unhappy1756
grumpy1778
crabby1791
grumpish1797
thraw-gabbit18..
snarlish1813
cranky1821
stuntya1825
ill-natured1825
nattery1825
rantankerous1832
foul-tempered1835
cacochymical1836
as cross as two sticks1842
grumphy1846
knappy1855
carnaptious1858
cussed1858
three-cornered1863
snotty1870
sniffy1871
snorty1893
grouchy1895
scratchy1925
tight1950
stroppy1951
snitty1978
arsey1989
1687 Alice Hatton in E. M. Thompson Corr. Family of Hatton (1878) II. 65 I am sorry my ugly letter gave you any disturbance.
1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son liv. 540 He turned upon her with his ugliest look.
1855 T. C. Haliburton Nature & Human Nature I. ix. 286 Don't rile me, for I have an ugly pen, an ugly tongue, and an ugly temper.
1894 H. H. Gardener Unofficial Patriot 163 I've had to buck up to some pretty ugly talk first and last.
b. In predicative use, esp. to feel or look ugly.
ΚΠ
1796 R. Bage Hermsprong xxv Lord Grondale looked ugly; the doctor did not know how to look.
1836 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 1st Ser. Pref. I don't know as ever I felt so ugly afore since I was raised.
1836 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 1st Ser. i. xii Don't say that are any more.., for it makes me feel ugly.
1864 M. C. Harris Louie's Last Term 122 You make me ten times worse every time I see you, you make me so ugly I don't know myself.
1896 Daily News 25 Feb. 3 It is amusing to see the clever promptitude with which they manage the brutes who look at all ugly.
B. adv.
Horribly; terribly; uglily.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > ugliness > [adverb]
uglilya1300
foulc1390
uglyc1420
ill-favouredly1545
evilfavouredly1551
ill-favourably1576
stigmatically1622
unmacklyc1650
unsightly1726
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of being horrible > [adverb]
grislyc1200
atelichec1275
uglilya1300
hideously1340
horribly1340
grisfullya1382
uglyc1420
gastfullyc1449
ugsomelyc1450
horriferouslyc1626
gashly1628
hideous1667
horrifically1693
ghastily1829
ghastlily1830
gruesomely1893
grizzel1898
c1420 Chron. Vilod. 3988 An horribulle, foulle grome..hoggyliche lokede vpone herre wt horrible chere.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 509/2 Vggely, or vggely wyse, horribiliter.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 51 Yone yong man..stynkis more vglie in þe sight of God..þan done all þe carion of þis werld.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 55 But wo is þe..biginning of þis þus gret iuel, I drede ungly to sey.
c1480 (a1400) St. Pelagia 232 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 210 Þe feynde þarfor hye can cry, þat mony herde, ful vgly.
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress (ed. 2) 187 But they desired him to let them go; with that he looked ugly upon them.
1876 Times 4 Nov. 9/6 ‘Plug-Uglies’... Several years ago I was in Baltimore, where the class of rowdies who originated this euphonious name abounded, and was told it was derived from a short spike fastened in the toe of their boots, with which they kicked their opponents in a dense crowd, or, as they elegantly expressed it, ‘plugged them ugly’.
1897 E. Phillpotts Lying Prophets iii. xi. 344 I'm punished ugly enough.
C. n.
1. An ugly person, animal, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > ugliness > [noun] > ugly thing
eyesore1530
blind side1606
dissightc1710
ugly1755
desight1828
eye-sorrow1828
sight1862
a blot (up)on the landscape1912
to be no oil painting1919
1755 H. Walpole Lett. (1846) III. 100 There were all the beauties, and all the diamonds, and not a few of the uglies of London.
1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 18 Mony a lump ea Brass he hes teaan frae his poor Barns an me, to carry to thor Uglys.
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 27 June 6/1 Artists and actors,..peers and judges, beauties and uglies—they were all in the highest spirits.
1895 J. G. Millais Breath from Veldt v. 108 There lay old Ugly in extremis, with his..fine tusks directed towards us.
2.
a. A kind of hood or shade attached to the front of a lady's bonnet or hat as a protection to the eyes. (In use c1850.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > parts of headgear > [noun] > hood or brim to protect face
bongrace1530
shadow1578
curtain1788
shade1818
ugly1850
poke1859
sunshade1868
sun visor1920
visor1939
1850 W. M. Thackeray Kickleburys on Rhine (1851) 25 ‘Those hoods!’ she said; ‘we call those hoods Uglies!’
1856 H. Mayhew Upper Rhine 107 The broad eaves project so far over that they remind you almost of a lady's ‘ugly’.
1891 Eng. Illustr. Mag. Dec. 197 Most hideous folding shades of silk drawn on wires were affixed to the front of these bonnets, and deservedly called ‘uglies’.
b. A knitted face-protector formerly worn in Canada.
ΚΠ
1895 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. II.
3. the uglies (slang), depression, bad temper; (see also quots. 1904, 1974).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > [noun] > disordered state
untemperateness1398
mistemperancec1485
mistemper1549
intemperature1559
mistemperateness1561
mistempering1561
dissension1582
indisposition1598
undisposedness1600
untune1603
disaffection1618
discomposure1646
distemper1648
misaffection1650
indisposedness1654
intemperies1676
intempery1676
intemperament1698
seediness1832
the uglies1846
upset1866
undertone1872
run-downness1890
woofits1918
underfunction1941
underfunctioning1941
1846 ‘Lord Chief Baron’ Swell's Night Guide (new ed.) 77 I know as how I've got the uglies.
1904 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang VII. iii. 251/1 Ugly,..In pl. = delirium tremens; the horrors.
1939 N. Last Diary 18 Oct. in Nella Last's War (1983) 20 A gloom seems over us all. I've shaken off my fit of the uglies, but I felt I'd just like to crawl into a hole.
1974 Petroleum Rev. 28 672/1 Nitrogen narcosis, popularly called ‘raptures of the deep’ but perhaps more accurately described as ‘the uglies’, is the malady caused by nitrogen under pressure, interfering with the normal function of the nervous system.
Compounds
ugly-clouded, ugly conditioned, ugly faced, ugly-headed, ugly-tempered, ugly visaged adjs.; also ugly-looking adj.
ΚΠ
(a)
(b)1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 195 A parcel of ugly-looking fellows came running into the water, and laid hold on our boat with great violence.1820 G. Belzoni Narr. Egypt & Nubia iii. 425 A sort of short ugly-looking fellow, turned up nose, long teeth out of his mouth, and uncommon thick lips.1839 C. Napier in W. N. Bruce Life Gen. C. Napier (1885) iv. 132 A hundred fellows may get ugly-looking gashes.1598 G. Chapman in C. Marlowe & G. Chapman Hero & Leander (new ed.) iv. 331 So most vgly clowded was the light, That day was hid in day.
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 34v The Seale..is..not vnlike a Pigge, vgly faced, and footed like a Moldwarp.
1637 J. Milton Comus 24 What grim aspects are these, These ougly-headed monsters?
1655 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1904) II. 25 The Example of very many..might somewhat excuse my signing that ugly conditioned Bond.
1849 G. Cupples Green Hand (1856) xi. 113 Ye're too tarnation ugly-faced for it, let alone colour.
1885 J. G. Waller in Archaeologia 49 205 On the opposite side is another ugly visaged figure.
1897 Outing 29 590/2 A good-sized, well-fed, ugly-tempered creature, with a pair of magnificent tusks.
Derivatives
ˈugly v. (transitive) to make ugly; to uglify; also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > disfigurement > disfigure [verb (transitive)]
loathly?c1225
defacec1374
disfigurec1374
emblemishc1384
defoula1387
unhighta1387
disray1431
deform?c1450
foul?c1450
deflower1486
defeata1492
unbeauty1495
deflourisha1513
disform?1520
ungarnish1530
disfashiona1535
disfavour1535
disgrace1549
unbeautify1570
uglify1576
disbeautify1577
dishonest1581
disshape1583
disornament1593
disadorn1598
undeck1598
disvisage1603
unfair1609
untrim1609
debellish1610
disfair1628
discomplexion1640
devenustate1653
disfeature1659
monkeyfy1707
ugly1740
defeature1792
dedecorate1804
scarecrow1853
nastify1873
1740 S. Richardson Pamela I. xxxi. 263 It is impossible I should love him; for his Vices all ugly him over, as I may say.
1770 C. Jenner Placid Man v. iv The idea of a ticket-porter stuck to every part of him, and uglied him all over.
1946 Sun (Baltimore) 5 Feb. 8/7 Hands uglied by winter weather?
1965 New Statesman 26 Nov. 850/2 He uglies up the very places where one expects an opposite treatment.
1979 Listener 23 Aug. 248/2 Ever since Grease uglied up the Fifties..the nostalgia industry has taken a curiously tough turn.
Draft additions January 2005
ugly sister n. [with allusion to Cinderella's ugly and unpleasant stepsisters in the fairy tale Cinderella] allusive (also with capital initials) a person or thing considered unattractive, inferior, or unpleasant compared to others of the same type or group; an unpleasant or undesirable counterpart.
ΚΠ
1874 F. Boyle Camp Notes 84 Only the extreme tips of the ‘nipas’,—that ugly sister in the graceful family of palms,—rose above the flood.
1906 Econ. Jrnl. 16 355 A monthly Parliamentary return..together with its ugly sisters, the immigration figures.
1909 Times 3 Apr. 20/3 A hydroplane shoves her nose in and, with a sea like a millpond such as the Bay presents this afternoon, the ugly sister may give her competitors a good race.
1969 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 3 Dec. 8/7 They are the Ugly Sisters of politics who are determined to pare down the size of people in order that they may be made to fit into some System.
1997 Cosmopolitan (U.K. ed.) May 218/1 It's oestrogen's ugly sister, progesterone, that accounts for PMS prickliness.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.adv.n.a1300