Ugliness Meaning
/ˈʌɡlinəs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe condition of being ugly.
nounAn unsightly or frightful object.
Sentence Examples
Even plastic surgery won't do anything for your ugliness.
Seen close-up, things have a way of showing their defects, their innate ugliness.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of the old factory made everyone prefer to avoid the area.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The modern building was criticized for its perceived ____ and the way it clashed with the historic architecture today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English ugly Proto-Germanic *-in- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English ugliness From ugly + -ness.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"His best friend would not have called him good-looking, but he was the fortunate possessor of that cheerful type of ugliness which inspires immediate confidence in its owner."
— 1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, chapter 1, in Bulldog Drummond:
"Then she wrote back to me, responding to everything I wrote but this reference to love and sex […] A week or so went by, and she called. She was worried about me, wanted me to be careful, wanted to be happy, but she said that she had ignored that "ugliness" in my letter."
— 1986, Daniel Garrett, “Creating Ourselves: An Open Letter”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 94:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of the old factory made everyone prefer to avoid the area.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The modern building was criticized for its perceived ____ and the way it clashed with the historic architecture today.