I. ˈəglē, -li adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English uglike, ugly frightful, unpleasing in appearance, from Old Norse uggligr frightful, from uggr fear + -ligr -ly — more at -ly
1. : frightful , terrible , horrible , dire
inflicting a very ugly though not necessarily fatal wound — D.D.Martin
2.
a.
(1) : offensive to the sight : of unpleasing, disagreeable, or loathsome appearance : not beautiful — unsightly, hideous
ugly people
an ugly color
houses were cheaply constructed and ugly — Sherwood Anderson
(2) : inaesthetic
an ugly line
b. : offensive or unpleasing to any sense
ugly sounds
ugly smells
3. : morally offensive or objectionable : repulsive , vile , base
ugly crimes
ugly habits
4.
a. : causing or likely to cause inconvenience, embarrassment, or discomfort : troublesome
an ugly situation
told him the ugly truth about himself — Eden Phillpotts
b.
(1) : threatening
ugly weather
an ugly cloud
(2) : heavy , violent
an ugly sea
c. : ill-natured , surly , quarrelsome
an ugly temper
Synonyms:
hideous , ill-favored , unsightly : ugly may apply to whatever is strongly displeasing to view or contemplate or to whatever calls forth repulsion, repugnance, loathing, or dread
an ugly sight he was, thin, stooping, bald, stiff-jointed, with an ulcered face patched with plasters — Robert Graves
acres of ugly wooden tenement houses line the drab streets — American Guide Series: Massachusetts
an ugly story of low passion, delusion, and waking from delusion — George Eliot
hideous applies to what is extremely ugly and revolting, horrible, or odious
false eyebrows and false moustaches were stuck upon them, and their hideous countenances were all bloody and sweaty — Charles Dickens
a yell of agony so appalling and hideous — Sheridan Le Fanu
a hideous business, in which nearly all the humane alleviations of brutal violence, introduced and practiced in the days when professional armies fought for a dynasty or for a point of honor, were disregarded — W.R.Inge
ill-favored describes one with unpleasing, disagreeable, or unpleasant features but does not in general have more dire connotation
ill-favored and lean-fleshed — Gen 41:3 (Authorized Version)
unsightly , close to ugly , may apply to something unattractive that blemishes what might have been pleasing
unsightly hovels
unsightly areas of houses quickly built and poorly kept — American Guide Series: Virginia
an unsightly scar
II. adverb
Etymology: Middle English, from ugly (I)
chiefly dialect : uglily
III. noun
( -es )
Etymology: ugly (I)
: one that is ugly