Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

unpleasant

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing.These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are morefrequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
adjective British English pronunciation: unpleasant /ʌnˈplez(ə)nt/

Related dictionary definitions

  1. 1
    if something is unpleasant, you do not like or enjoy it

    The smell was very unpleasant.

    an unpleasant experience

    We were all ignoring the unpleasant truth.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  unpleasantThesaurus entry for this meaning of unpleasant
  2. 2
    not friendly or kind

    She was really unpleasant on the phone.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  unpleasantThesaurus entry for this meaning of unpleasant
    1. a.
      used about situations in which people are angry or violent

      Things could get very unpleasant if they’re not paid on time.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  unpleasantThesaurus entry for this meaning of unpleasant

derived word

unpleasantly

adverb

It was an unpleasantly warm and muggy night.

How could you behave so unpleasantly towards her?

This is the British English definition of unpleasant. View American English definition of unpleasant.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 

showmance

a romantic relationship between two members of the cast of a play, film or television series

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

slime

a thick, wet, unpleasant substance that covers something

Open Dictionary

human-readable

able to be read and understood by people

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog