40 Similes for Ugly Writers Use to Shock and Surprise

Describing something as simply “ugly” can feel flat and uninspired. How do you convey the specific kind of ugliness? Is it jarring, pitiful, or comical? To truly capture this powerful aesthetic, writers and artists turn to the magic of the simile. A simile is a figure of speech that brings language to life by comparing two different things using the words “like” or “as.” It creates an instant, vivid picture in the mind of your audience.

In creative expression, similes are indispensable. They allow us to describe challenging subjects with precision, humour, and emotion. This article explores 40 unique similes for “ugly,” complete with their meanings and examples, designed to help you expand your creative vocabulary and describe the world with more imaginative flair.

Table of Contents

Why We Use Similes in Art

In art and writing, the goal is to show, not just tell. Similes are a master tool for showing. They allow a creator to evoke a specific emotion by linking a subject to a familiar feeling (e.g., a building as ugly as a prison). They help describe visual characteristics in a way that is far more impactful than a simple adjective (a face like a bucket of smashed crabs creates a much stronger image than just “unattractive”). By comparing an abstract quality like unattractiveness to a concrete, sensory experience, similes make our descriptions tangible, memorable, and emotionally resonant.

Related: Similes About Winter

Similes for Ugly

Here is a collection of similes to describe things that are less than beautiful, ranging from the humorous to the grotesque.

1. As Ugly as a Toad

Meaning: Having a lumpy, warty, or generally unappealing appearance.
Usage Example: “The gargoyle on the old church was as ugly as a toad, but he had grown fond of it.”
This is a classic simile that plays on the common perception of toads as warty and unattractive.

2. Like a Bulldog Chewing a Wasp

Meaning: A facial expression that is scrunched up, angry, and distorted.
Usage Example: “When he heard the bad news, his face twisted up like a bulldog chewing a wasp.”
This simile is highly specific and comical, used to describe a contorted, angry face.

3. As Ugly as a Mud Fence

Meaning: Something that is plain, unadorned, and exceptionally unattractive.
Usage Example: “They built a new block of flats on the corner, and it’s as ugly as a mud fence.”
This is a rustic, old-fashioned simile that emphasizes a drab and unappealing appearance.

4. Like a Busted Couch

Meaning: Appearing worn out, lumpy, stained, and generally past its prime.
Usage Example: “The old car, with its dents and torn upholstery, looked like a busted couch on wheels.”
This simile evokes a sense of dilapidated, shabby unattractiveness.

5. As Appealing as a Three-Dollar Bill

Meaning: Something that is obviously fake, wrong, and unappealing.
Usage Example: “His phony smile was as appealing as a three-dollar bill.”
This simile uses the idea of counterfeit money to describe something that feels off-putting and inauthentic.

6. Like a Bucket of Smashed Crabs

Meaning: A chaotic, grotesque, and visually jarring mess.
Usage Example: “The abstract sculpture was a confusing jumble of metal, like a bucket of smashed crabs.”
This is a strong, visceral simile used to describe something that is both ugly and disorderly.

7. As Attractive as a Cinder Block

Meaning: Completely lacking in charm, beauty, or decorative qualities.
Usage Example: “The new government building was as attractive as a cinder block.”
This simile is used to describe brutalist or overly functional architecture and objects.

8. Like a Punch in the Eye

Meaning: Something that is shockingly and offensively ugly.
Usage Example: “The garish, neon-green wallpaper was like a punch in the eye.”
This simile describes something whose ugliness is jarring and almost physically painful to see.

9. As Ugly as Sin

Meaning: Extremely and profoundly ugly, often with a moral or evil connotation.
Usage Example: “In the fairy tale, the witch was as ugly as sin, with a heart to match.”
This classic simile ties physical ugliness to the concept of moral corruption.

10. Like a Bag of Spanners

Meaning: Clumsy, awkward, and unattractive in form or function.
Usage Example: “He tried to dance, but he was all flailing limbs, moving like a bag of spanners.”
This British simile is often used to describe a face with clumsy, rough features or an uncoordinated person.

11. As Pretty as a Burnt Stump

Meaning: Sarcastically implying something is not pretty at all; it’s charred and ruined.
Usage Example: “Oh, you painted your car that colour? It’s as pretty as a burnt stump.”
This is a sarcastic or ironic simile used to mock something’s appearance.

12. Like Something the Cat Dragged In

Meaning: Looking dirty, dishevelled, and generally unwell or unkempt.
Usage Example: “After camping in the rain for three days, he showed up at the door looking like something the cat dragged in.”
This simile is used to describe a person’s messy and bedraggled state.

13. As Cute as a Box of Frogs

Meaning: Ironic; while individual frogs can be cute, a box of them suggests a chaotic, warty mess.
Usage Example: “That sweater with all the clashing patterns is as cute as a box of frogs.”
This is another sarcastic simile, using a seemingly positive image to mean the opposite.

14. Like a Face for Radio

Meaning: Having a voice that is pleasant but a face that is considered unattractive.
Usage Example: “He was a great conversationalist but, as his friends joked, he had a face for radio.”
This is a well-known, often gentle insult suggesting someone is not conventionally good-looking.

15. As Homely as a Hedge Fence

Meaning: Plain, simple, and lacking any refined beauty.
Usage Example: “The cottage was sturdy and comfortable, but as homely as a hedge fence.”
“Homely” is a softer word for ugly, emphasizing plainness rather than grotesqueness.

16. Like a Car Wreck

Meaning: So shockingly awful that you can’t look away.
Usage Example: “The clashing decor in that room is like a car wreck; it’s horrible, but you can’t stop staring.”
This simile describes a morbid fascination with something’s ugliness.

17. As Pleasant as a Root Canal

Meaning: Extremely unpleasant and something to be dreaded.
Usage Example: “The building’s design, with its windowless facade, was as pleasant as a root canal.”
This simile compares visual ugliness to a famously unpleasant physical experience.

18. Like a Hatful of Hammers

Meaning: Describing a face with very rough, bashed-in, or prominent, clumsy features.
Usage Example: “The boxer’s face, after years in the ring, looked like a hatful of hammers.”
This simile creates a strong image of blunt, forceful damage.

19. As Welcome as a Skunk at a Lawn Party

Meaning: Not just ugly or unpleasant, but actively unwanted and likely to cause trouble.
Usage Example: “His new, brutally modern statue in the historic town square was as welcome as a skunk at a lawn party.”
This simile focuses on how an ugly object’s presence ruins its surroundings.

20. Like a Dropped Pie

Meaning: A collapsed, messy, and ruined sight.
Usage Example: “His face, after hearing the verdict, crumpled like a dropped pie.”
This describes a face contorting with despair, becoming a messy ruin of its former self.

21. As Ugly as a Hat Full of… (various unpleasant things)

Meaning: A general formula for creating a visceral image of ugliness.
Usage Example: “That creature from the movie was as ugly as a hat full of worms.”
This is a flexible simile where the “unpleasant thing” can be changed for effect.

22. Like a Cold Cup of Sick

Meaning: Utterly repulsive and nauseating.
Usage Example: “The colour scheme of the room, a mix of beige and pale green, was as appealing as a cold cup of sick.”
This simile uses a powerful image of revulsion to describe something’s unattractiveness.

23. As Fetching as a Festering Sore

Meaning: Sarcastically meaning not fetching (attractive) at all; in fact, it’s grotesque and infected.
Usage Example: “He thought his new tattoo was cool, but it looked as fetching as a festering sore.”
This simile uses irony and a gruesome image for maximum impact.

24. Like a Pair of Muddy Boots

Meaning: Clumsy, dirty, and lacking any elegance or grace.
Usage Example: “The concrete planters at the entrance were clunky and out of place, like a pair of muddy boots in a ballroom.”
This simile focuses on the ugliness of an object being out of place.

25. As Much Fun as a Sack of Weasels

Meaning: Seeming chaotic, vicious, and deeply unpleasant.
Usage Example: “That painting, with its angry, jagged lines, looked as much fun as a sack of weasels.”
This simile describes an ugliness that is aggressive and full of negative energy.

26. Like a Hog on Ice

Meaning: Awkward, clumsy, and unattractively out of its element.
Usage Example: “Watching the CEO try to use the new software was like watching a hog on ice.”
This simile focuses on the ugliness of incompetence and awkwardness.

27. As Appealing as a Wet Weekend

Meaning: Drab, miserable, and completely devoid of joy or charm.
Usage Example: “The grey, drizzly cityscape was as appealing as a wet weekend.”
This British simile connects visual ugliness to the miserable feeling of bad weather.

28. Like a Two-Headed Vulture

Meaning: Monstrous, unnatural, and deeply unsettling to look at.
Usage Example: “The strange, asymmetrical sculpture looked like a two-headed vulture.”
This simile is used to describe something that is bizarre and unnervingly ugly.

29. As Plain as a Potato

Meaning: Lacking any distinguishing or attractive features; simple and unadorned.
Usage Example: “She wasn’t ugly, but her face was as plain as a potato, easily forgotten.”
This is a milder simile that points to a lack of beauty rather than active ugliness.

30. Like an Unmade Bed

Meaning: Messy, rumpled, and chaotic in appearance.
Usage Example: “His hair was a mess, and his clothes were wrinkled; he looked like an unmade bed.”
This simile describes an ugliness that comes from a lack of care and order.

31. As Graceful as a Refrigerator Falling Down a Flight of Stairs

Meaning: Extremely clumsy, noisy, and violently ungraceful.
Usage Example: “His attempt at a ballet leap was as graceful as a refrigerator falling down a flight of stairs.”
This humorous simile exaggerates a lack of grace to comical effect.

32. Like a Leaky Faucet

Meaning: Annoying, persistent, and gratingly unpleasant.
Usage Example: “His voice, with its nasal whine, was as pleasant as a leaky faucet at 3 a.m.”
This simile describes an ugliness that is auditory rather than visual.

33. As Ugly as a Box of Smashed Crayons

Meaning: A chaotic mess of broken pieces and clashing colours.
Usage Example: “The child’s painting was as ugly as a box of smashed crayons, but his mother loved it.”
This simile describes a colourful but disorderly and unappealing mess.

34. Like a Gargoyle with a Toothache

Meaning: A grotesque and miserable-looking sight.
Usage Example: “He sat hunched over his desk, scowling at the paperwork like a gargoyle with a toothache.”
This combines the inherent ugliness of a gargoyle with the misery of pain for a powerful image.

35. As Much Use as a Chocolate Teapot

Meaning: So poorly designed for its function that its existence is ugly and pointless.
Usage Example: “The new city square, with no benches or shade, was as much use as a chocolate teapot.”
This simile describes the ugliness of poor design and uselessness.

36. Like a Face That Could Stop a Clock

Meaning: A face so shocking or ugly it could hypothetically halt the mechanics of a clock.
Usage Example: “The villain in the old film had a face that could stop a clock.”
This is a classic, exaggerated simile for an exceptionally unattractive face.

37. As Easy on the Eyes as a Traffic Jam

Meaning: Not easy on the eyes at all; stressful, chaotic, and unpleasant to look at.
Usage Example: “The clashing patterns of his suit were as easy on the eyes as a traffic jam.”
This ironic simile equates visual ugliness with a common, stressful experience.

38. Like a Hair in a Biscuit

Meaning: Something that is off-putting and ruins an otherwise good thing.
Usage Example: “The single ugly skyscraper in the beautiful old city was like a hair in a biscuit.”
This simile describes how one ugly element can spoil the whole.

39. As Ugly as homemade soap

Meaning: Lumpy, plain, and lacking the refinement of a commercially produced product.
Usage Example: “The building was a lumpy, brown structure, as ugly as homemade soap.”
This simile points to a rustic, unrefined, and perhaps lopsided appearance.

40. Like a Painting by a Drunk Monkey

Meaning: A chaotic, senseless, and talentless mess.
Usage Example: “His attempt to redecorate the living room resulted in a clashing disaster that looked like a painting by a drunk monkey.”
This humorous simile is used to describe something that is ugly due to a complete lack of skill or taste.

Practice Your New Vocabulary: Fill in the Blanks

Ready to put your creative language skills to the test? Fill in the blanks below to complete the similes.

The strange new building in the city centre is as ugly ________________.
After the argument, his face was twisted up ___________ a bulldog chewing a wasp.
His garish taste in furniture was _______ a punch in the eye.
After being caught in the thunderstorm, she looked __________ something the cat dragged in.
The villain in the story had a face that was said to be as ugly ________________.
The colour of the walls was a sickly green, as appealing ______ a cold cup of sick.
He described the lumpy, misshapen pottery he made as being as pretty _______ a burnt stump.
The sound of his voice grating on and on was _______ a leaky faucet.
Her attempt at dancing was as graceful _______________ falling down the stairs.
The abandoned, rusted car sat in the field _________ a busted couch.

Answers

as a mud fence
like
like
like
as sin
as
as
like
as a refrigerator
like

Conclusion

Similes are a vital tool in the artist’s and writer’s toolkit. They allow us to move beyond simple, one-word descriptions and into a world of creative, emotional, and highly specific imagery. By learning to use similes for a concept like “ugly,” you can describe a character, a place, or an object with humors, pathos, or horror.

We encourage you to play with these phrases, mix and match them, and invent your own. The more you practice, the more your language will become a true reflection of your unique creative vision.

If you enjoyed this collection, explore our other posts on figurative language, idioms, and metaphors to continue sharpening your expressive skills!