unpleasing
adjUK /ʌnˈpliːzɪŋ/
Etymology From Middle English un-plesyng, equivalent to un- + pleasing.
1
Not pleasing; unpleasant.
- It is, it is: hie hence, be gone, away! It is the lark that sings so out of tune, Straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps.c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:
- ‘[…] Be assured, my dear, that these were the harshest words, and to me the most unpleasing that ever escaped your lips!’1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], chapter 13, in The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC:
2 more examples
- This looked peculiar at first, but not unpleasing when one gets used to it.1950 December, H. C. Casserley, “Locomotive Cavalcade, 1920-1950—6”, in Railway Magazine, page 843:
- Zander took out a silk handkerchief and vented some unpleasing odour from his mouth.2000, J. G. Ballard, Super-Cannes, Fourth Estate, published 2011, page 86:
- Derived terms
- unpleasingly, unpleasingness