ill-favored

American  

[il-fey-verd] / ˈɪlˈfeɪ vərd /

especially British, ill-favoured

adjective

1. unpleasant in appearance; homely or ugly.

2. offensive; unpleasant; objectionable.

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Other Word Forms

• ill-favoredly adverb
• ill-favoredness noun

Etymology

Origin of ill-favored

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

The story tells of an ill-favored child, Marie Grosholtz, who’s born in an Alsatian village in 1761 and orphaned a few years later.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

The primary character is Marek, a uniquely homely and ill-favored young man.

From New York Times • Jun. 13, 2022

Nd8!, cheekily squatting on the Black queen’s home square and winning the ill-favored Black c-pawn after all.

From Washington Times • Nov. 23, 2021

And there came out against me a certain ill-favored Egyptian with his helpers, to fight with me.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2019

And she saw the ill-favored one, whose sun-ravaged skin was healing in the citadel’s shade—though he was no more appealing for it.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor