Meanings
comparative more unpleasing · superlative most unpleasing
- Not pleasing; unpleasant.
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 8433 more examples
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, […], →OCLCZander 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
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveunpleasant or disagreeable to the senses
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishun-plesyng
- Englishunpleasing
From Middle English un-plesyng, equivalent to un- + pleasing.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
unpleasing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unpleasing
“unpleasing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unpleasing. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unpleasing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unpleasing.
Source: unpleasing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.