Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ugly american

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.38 in modern English

Syllables: ug-ly amer-i-can
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An American government representative, tourist, or businessperson who, in dealing with people of other nations, is haughty, rude, meddlesome, chauvinistic, or jingoistic.

noun

Alternative form of ugly American.

Example Sentences

"The Republican House managers were acting like ugly Americans abroad who think that if they talk loudly and slowly, foreigners will understand them."
"Quinn throws himself into the role of the vain, heavy-drinking bully with gusto[…]. He's precisely the kind of ugly American people cringe upon meeting—loud, demanding and arrogant, a bottle of Scotch never far from his elbow."
"The US […]turned into an overweening global bully […]. In the persons of Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, the Ugly American was back."
"For the last fortnight, Trump has presented himself to the world as the caricature of the ugly American: loud, boorish and ill-informed."
"“We try so hard not to be the ugly American, and here is Emily with her terrible accent and garish clothing, shouting at French people in English and expecting them to understand,” she said."

Etymology

From the novel The Ugly American (1958) by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick (though the character in the novel is only physically ugly and otherwise morally upright).

Inflected Forms

ugly Americans (plural)

Questions

What does ugly american mean?: An American government representative, tourist, or businessperson who, in dealing with people of other nations, is haughty, rude, meddlesome, chauvinistic, or jingoistic.
Where does ugly american come from?: From the novel The Ugly American (1958) by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick (though the character in the novel is only physically ugly and otherwise morally upright).

How to pronounce ugly american

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