Word.ws English Dictionary

ugly duckling

Syllables: ug·ly duck·lingUK/ˈʌɡ.liː ˌdʌk.lɪŋ/US/ˈʌɡ.li ˌdʌk.lɪŋ/

ugly duckling noun: a young person who is ugly, but who is expected to become beautiful or handsome as they mature.

Noun

ugly duckling (plural ugly ducklings)

  1. (idiomatic) A young person who is ugly, but who is expected to become beautiful or handsome as they mature.
    • The ugly duckling has become a very fine swan, and Rachel Sprigg and her team have worked hard to ensure that Derby is a worthy winner of that coveted National Rail Award. They can be proud of their achievements.2019 December 4, Andy Coward, “Derby's crowning achievement”, in Rail, page 57
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see ugly, duckling.

ugly duckling meaning in Arabic and Indonesian

ugly duckling in Arabic

one who is ugly, but who is expected to become beautiful or handsome as they mature
بَطَّة قَبِيحَة

ugly duckling in Indonesian

one who is ugly, but who is expected to become beautiful or handsome as they mature
itik buruk rupa

Forms of ugly duckling

pluralugly ducklings

Origin of ugly duckling

Calque of Danish grim ælling. From the fairy tale of a duckling, considered ugly, that matures into a magnificent swan.

Questions about ugly duckling

What does ugly duckling mean?
Ugly duckling means a young person who is ugly, but who is expected to become beautiful or handsome as they mature.
What is ugly duckling in Arabic?
Ugly duckling in Arabic is بَطَّة قَبِيحَة. See Ugly duckling meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is ugly duckling?
Ugly duckling is a noun.
How do you pronounce ugly duckling?
Ugly duckling is pronounced /ˈʌɡ.liː ˌdʌk.lɪŋ/ (UK).
What is the plural of ugly duckling?
The plural of ugly duckling is ugly ducklings.

Words near ugly duckling in the dictionary

  1. ugly cries
  2. ugly cry
  3. ugly crying
  4. ugly customer
  5. ugly customers
  6. ugly duckling
  7. ugly ducklings
  8. ugly finder
  9. ugly finders
  10. ugly hot
  11. ugly law

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ugly duckling (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-ugly duckling.ogg.

Cite this entry: “ugly duckling.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ugly_duckling. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.