unattractive
Britishadjective
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not appealing to the senses or mind through beauty, form, character, etc
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not arousing interest
an unattractive proposition
Explanation
Unattractive means "unappealing" or "ugly." The cake you baked for you best friend's birthday may be lopsided and unattractive, but she won't care if it tastes delicious. It's not very nice to describe people as unattractive — you're basically saying they're not pretty or handsome. But inanimate objects can also be unattractive if they're not pleasant to look at, like the unattractive cactus on your coffee table. And other things are unattractive because they offer no benefits or advantages: "I wanted that job until he offered me an unattractive salary."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If the dollar is unattractive as a portfolio hedge, the more incentive there is to reduce dollar exposure.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 12, 2026
And when that accident happened, she felt so unattractive to him.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025
Meanwhile, by the late 1960s, his artist friends had embraced the Anti-Form movement, in which cheap and often unattractive materials were brought together in incongruous combinations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
Pundits criticised the 62-year-old former midfielder for his unattractive style of play, while he bemoaned having no players coming even close to the level of former Czech greats such as Pavel Nedved or Tomas Rosicky.
From Barron's • Oct. 15, 2025
“Once Ignatius started talking to them people, they’d maybe get mad and lock him up for good,” Mrs. Reilly said, but she was thinking that even that alternative wasn’t too unattractive.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
