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# ugly

«ugly» in Mova's school dictionary: **not nice to look at** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (ugly, uglier, ugliest)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Ugly means not nice to look at. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#m1)

2) Ugly can describe something nasty, unpleasant or violent, like an ugly fight or an ugly mood. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#m2)

3) Ugly can describe something that looks dangerous, like an ugly cut or ugly storm clouds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In stories, «The Ugly Duckling» teaches that looks can change and do not show who someone really is. In kindness and anti-bullying lessons, calling someone ugly is hurtful and unkind. In everyday life, «things turned ugly» means a situation became nasty. Phrases: «turn ugly», «ugly duckling», «ugly mood», «an ugly cut».

### examples

- The ugly duckling grew into a beautiful swan. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#x1)
- That old building is really ugly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#x2)
- Calling people ugly is unkind. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#x3)
- The argument turned ugly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#x4)
- He had an ugly cut on his knee. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#x5)
- The sky looked ugly before the storm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#x6)
- The troll was the ugliest creature in the forest. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#x7)
- She wore an ugly jumper for fun. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#x8)
- "What an ugly creature he is!" [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/#x9)

### note

Comparative: uglier, ugliest (y changes to i). Ugly is a strong word; to be kinder people say «not very nice-looking». In stories, an ugly character is not always bad: the lesson is not to judge by looks.

### In the corpora

- [The book also calls her «very ugly»: judging people by their looks is an old habit we do not admire today.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/17-alice-the-mock-turtles-story-1/16/)
- ["A face for radio" is a joking, unkind way to say someone is ugly.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/9-age-looks-and-size/16/)
- [Envy can make you say mean things you do not really believe, like calling something ugly because you want it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/352-party-sweets-biggest-slice-best-pencils-and-pushing/12/)
- [Kai called his friend's new trainers ugly because he secretly wanted them, and his friend, sad, stopped wearing them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/352-party-sweets-biggest-slice-best-pencils-and-pushing/13/)
- [Real fights are messy and ugly, not like on TV.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/374-what-fights-cost-bruises-noses-and-teeth/19/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «ugly» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/ugly/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.