ugliness
(ˈʌglɪnɪs)
Forms: 4, 6– ugli- (4, 6–7 vgli-), 4, 7–8 ugly- (5 vgly-); 5 vgg(e)ly-, 7 uggli-; 6 ougly-, 6–7 ougli-, 9 dial. oogli-; also 4–5 -nes, 5–7 -nesse.
[f. ugly a. + -ness.]
† 1. Horror, dread, loathing. Obs.
| c 1325 Metr. Hom. 21 For folc sal duin for din of se, And for baret that than sal be, Ouer al this werd bes rednes, Wandreth, and uglines. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 6832 ‘Þar nan ordre wonand es,’ says he, ‘Bot uglynes [L. horror] þat ever mare sal be’. a 1395 Hylton Scala Perf. i. xxxvii. (W. de W. 1494), Some men he tempteth also and namely solitary men & wymmen by dredes and vglynes, and quakynges and shakynges. a 1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. 43 Whare we sulde hafe vgglynes als vn-till oure body, for to ete flesche, and drynke blude of man, oure Lorde Ihesu Criste turnede his flesche and his blude in liknes of brede and of wyne. a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 8 Þof-al I suffre no-þing, vgglynes [L. horror] of suffryng holdeth me. |
† b. A cause of horror or loathing. Obs.
| 1587 Golding De Mornay xvi. 294 What an ouglynesse then ought it to be vnto vs, when wee see how men..doe euery howre kill..and roote out one another? |
2. The state of being ugly to look at; repulsiveness or marked inelegance of appearance: a. As an abstract quality.
Stronger in earlier than in later use.
| c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 917 Aftir man,..vermyn es, And aftir vermyn stynkand uglynes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 509/2 Vggelynesse, horribilitas. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. vi. 10 But all her hinder parts did plaine expresse A monstrous Dragon, full of fearefull vglinesse. 1623 Middleton More Dissemblers v. ii. 102 A thing whose face, through ugliness, frights children. 1642 Milton Apol. Smect. Wks. 1851 III. 316 Which to dresse up and garnish with a devis'd bravery..addes nothing but a deform'd uglinesse. 1703 Rowe Fair Penit. ii. 22 You blast the Fair with Lies because they scorn you, Hate you like Age, like Ugliness and Impotence. 1756 Burke Subl. & B. iii. xxi, Though ugliness be the opposite to beauty it is not the opposite to proportion and fitness. 1798 S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. II. 25 Her features had every disadvantage of ugliness, but that of being remarkable. 1820 Keats Lamia i. 164 Of all these bereft, Nothing but pain and ugliness were left. 1844 Kinglake Eothen xvii, The awful haggardness that gave something of character to the faces of the men was sheer ugliness in the poor women. 1885–94 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche March v, She was as far From pictured beauty as is ugliness. |
b. As a quality of particular things or persons.
| c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 2364 Sen þe devel þus has tane his uglines Of þe filth of syn, þat swa filand es. c 1400 Cursor M. 27638 (Cott. Galba), When he wex proud..out of heuyn he fell to hell, And al his vglines he toke Of sin of pride. 1608 Willet Hexapla Exod. 97 The Egyptians..were..punished..with the number and vglines of them [frogs]. a 1618 Sylvester Mem. Mortalitie iii, Death's ouglinesse is but imagined; Under foule Vizard a faire Face shee wears. 1658 T. Wall Charact. Enemies Ch. 31 The ugliness of its [the leopard's] shape would more affright then the sweetness of its scent allure. 1756 M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Cl.) 193 And what adds to the uglyness of the town is the dirty smoaky look it has. 1826 F. Reynolds Life & Times i. 19, I was perfectly startled at his ugliness. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 69 Charles, though he liked her conversation, laughed at her ugliness. 1861 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 45 High above, the Imperial double eagle figured in all its ugliness, like a scarecrow nailed to a barn door. |
c. An instance of this quality; an ugly thing or feature.
| 1856 Hawthorne Eng. Note-bks. (1879) I. 313 All full of monstrosities and horrible uglinesses. |
3. Moral repulsiveness or offensiveness; disgusting wickedness.
| 1601 Barlow Serm. Paules Crosse B vij b, We, being commanded by authority,..did describe the nature and vglinesse of the rebellion. 1646 Hammond Death-bed Repent. 66 A consideration of the..detestable uglynesse of sinne. 1684 Contempl. St. Man i. ix. (1699) 95 The ugliness likewise of Human Nature shall be discovered. 1844 Kinglake Eothen v, A shock of this kind disclosing the ugliness of a cheat, is more..convincing than any mere proofs. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Note-bks. (1871) II. 3, I should like to know what it was..that made him insist upon having his actual likeness perpetrated, with all the ugliness of its animal and moral character. 1869 M{supc}Laren Serm. Ser. ii. vii. 113 The Bible tells the shameful history in all its naked ugliness. |
4. dial. Bad temper; disagreeableness.
| 1889 M. Peacock Tales 76, I knaw what he is, when he's full o' his ugliness. |