ill-looking

[ il-look-ing ]

adjective

, Older Use.

1. ugly.
2. sinister.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ill-looking¹

First recorded in 1625–35

Example Sentences

I wondered whether the two swollen faces were of Mr. Jaggers’s family, and, if he were so unfortunate as to have had a pair of such ill-looking relations, why he stuck them on that dusty perch for the blacks and flies to settle on, instead of giving them a place at home.

From Literature

I then moved forward, and a murmuring sound arose from the crowd as they followed and surrounded me, when an ill-looking man approaching tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Come, sir, you must follow me to Mr. Kirwin’s to give an account of yourself.”

From Literature

The trial got off to a slow start on Tuesday, as an ill-looking Stone got permission to leave court early due to food poisoning and proceedings were temporarily paused after an audience member suffered from a medical emergency and was taken away by paramedics.

From Reuters

I had noticed it often as I went about the city, a long grimy many-towered ill-looking place, distinct among the pallid bulks and hulks of the Commensal edifices.

From Literature

We saw children tending small flocks of ill-looking sheep on the shoulders of the road; greasy shops that appeared to specialize in the sale of bald tires; old men defecating in the middle of otherwise infertile-looking farm plots; and abandoned buildings that were distinguishable from their occupied neighbors mainly by their lack of satellite-television antennas. 

From Golf Digest