How do you use the word "ugly" in a sentence?

Q: How do you use the word "ugly" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "ugly": The big ugly tree destroys the beauty of the house. That ugly butcher resembles that fictional monster.

Ugly Meaning

/ˈʌɡli/

Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

adjDispleasing to the eye; aesthetically unpleasing.

adjDispleasing to the ear or some other sense.

Sentence Examples

The big ugly tree destroys the beauty of the house.

That ugly butcher resembles that fictional monster.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

slimy horrible worthless

Antonyms:

beautiful

CEFR Practice Quiz

The ____ painting had weird colors and was placed in the darkest corner.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

A massive and ____ grey cloud appeared in the sky, warning everyone that a heavy storm was approaching the area today.

Word Origin & History

Inherited from Middle English ugly, uggely, uglike, borrowed from Old Norse uggligr (“fearful, dreadful, horrible in appearance”), from uggr (“fear, apprehension, dread”) (possibly related to agg (“strife, hate”)), equivalent to ug + -ly. Cognate with Scots ugly, uglie, Icelandic ugglegur. Meaning softened to "very unpleasant to look at" around the late 14th century, and sense of "morally offensive" attested from around 1300. For the meaning development compare Bulgarian грозен (grozen) (< Proto-Slavic *grozьnъ), Russian стра́шный (strášnyj) (< Proto-Slavic *strašьnъ < *straxъ); Latin foedus (< Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂-).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"the ugly view of his deformed crimes" — 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 48:

"O, I have passed a miserable night, / So full of ugly sights, of ghastly dreams." — c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:

"When the poor man’s integuments, no longer nourished from within, become dead skin, mere adscititious leather and callosity, wearing thicker and thicker, uglier and uglier;[…]— yes then, you may say, his usefulness once more is quite obstructed;[…]it is time that he take to bed, and prepare for departure, which cannot now be distant!" — 1843, Thomas Carlyle, “XVII: The Beginnings”, in Past and Present, book 2:

"In Athens he looked up from his ouzo at what he called the ugliest people in the world." — 1957, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC:

"President Obama gave an important press conference today and even took questions from the press, but all of this was overshadowed by the fact that Obama debuted one of the ugliest suits in the history of this great nation." — 2014 August 28, Arit John, “No One Heard Anything Obama Just Said Because His Tan Suit Was So Loud”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 30 Nov 2025:

Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words