Ugliness

characteristic of being physically unappealing

Ugliness is a property of physical things that are not nice to look at. This word is commonly used in when talking about someone's appearance. The opposite of ugliness is beauty. Someone who discriminates against ugly is called a lookist or cacophobe.

The Ugly Duchess (painting by Quentin Matsys, ca. 1513)

Ugliness can be a matter of opinion. Two people can look at the same object and one may think it is beautiful and the other may think it is ugly. This is shown in the popular phrase Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Although ugly usually means "a lack of physical beauty", the property of ugliness may also be used to describe other things such as music, literature, or human behavior. The word can also be used as an insult, even if the person does not think the person they are talking about is ugly.

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