unhandsome

[ uhn-han-suhm ]

adjective

1. lacking good looks; not attractive in physical appearance; plain or ugly.
2. ungracious; discourteous; unseemly:

   an unhandsome exchange of epithets.

3. ungenerous; illiberal:

   an unhandsome reward.

Other Words From

• un·handsome·ly adverb
• un·handsome·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unhandsome¹

First recorded in 1520–30; un- ¹ + handsome

Example Sentences

Alec is self-conscious about his scarring, but if the show wanted to make Martin appear unhandsome, which he pushed for, it should have tried harder.

From New York Times

Or if there was, it isn’t the story that Frank Loesser tells in his 1956 musical “The Most Happy Fella,” about the romance between the unhandsome middle-aged Tony and the waitress Rosabella.

From New York Times

Later, the handsome but inarticulate Christian will enlist the supposedly unhandsome but eloquent Cyrano to woo Roxanne from afar, in a plot of unrequited love, unspoken desire and ego-driven self-deceit that has lasted through the ages.

From Washington Post

I say “supposedly unhandsome” because, although Dinklage’s Cyrano might be deemed sexually stymied by his dwarfism, it’s difficult to imagine anyone being immune to his smoldering appeal.

From Washington Post

An American teacher in middle age arrives at an apartment to meet a man who is older, overweight, unhandsome, a brute.

From New York Times

Related Words

• indecent
• unflattering
• unseemly
• untoward