# which: ugliest word in English ? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443 "2005-03-07T22:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/21 "2005-03-08T02:22:07Z")
**Putrid** is nasty in both sound and meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Grasshopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Grasshopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grasshopper)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/22 "2005-03-08T03:03:43Z")
I have absolutely no trouble with the word _which_, or \*witch \* for that matter (I think \*witch hazel \* is fun to say). If we were to do without it, \*that \* might work okay. Now, my nomination for the ugliest word. I don’t even want to type it. I feel nauseated just thinking about it. Pluperfect. Just horrible! It sounds like a combination of flu and poo :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/23 "2005-03-08T03:13:09Z")
I have read somewhere that the popular choice is _cacophony_, but mine would have to be _catarrh_. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/24 "2005-03-08T03:14:49Z")
Smegma. And it even tastes bad. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/25 "2005-03-08T03:17:39Z")
Tax ---
**Author:** ![Grasshopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Grasshopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grasshopper)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/26 "2005-03-08T03:32:32Z")
Aaargh, 45 minutes later, and I still just can’t get that word out of my head. It’s so gross. It’s another version of shomit. Oh, so and so is indisposed right now. He’s plooping. Ughhh. It even sounds like splashing! Ploop ploop ploop. Ploop-erfect. Gross. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/27 "2005-03-08T03:39:13Z")
Fecund. I both love and hate that word. ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/28 "2005-03-08T03:48:43Z")
“Girl” is an incredibly ugly word. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/29 "2005-03-08T03:53:43Z")
“Vestibule” Ick. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgonzola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e480ec/32.png) [@Gorgonzola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgonzola)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/30 "2005-03-08T03:53:48Z")
Phlegm. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/31 "2005-03-08T06:13:10Z")
malignant ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/32 "2005-03-08T06:15:29Z")
Better one: **pustule** ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/33 "2005-03-08T06:37:20Z")
Scabiosa or for you Brits, scabious. Who in the world came up with such an ugly name for such a pretty flower? Scab, in fact, is just plain ugly too. And speaking of pretty things with ugly names, I also nominate crepuscular. Thats those rays of light and shadow you sometimes see when the sun is setting. By the way, the ones you see opposite of where the sun is setting are anticrepuscular rays. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/34 "2005-03-08T06:38:47Z")
By the way, _which_ is a perfectly acceptable word to me. ---
**Author:** ![meek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@meek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meek)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/35 "2005-03-08T07:23:17Z")
hate ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/36 "2005-03-08T10:27:13Z")
use Its just UGLY and a stupid word to spell, not a single “Y” in it anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/37 "2005-03-08T12:27:00Z")
coagulate ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/38 "2005-03-08T12:34:40Z")
hate ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/39 "2005-03-08T13:32:09Z")
In his book **Culture Made Stupid** , Tom Weller has a list of he Eight worst words in English. I can’t remember them all, but I have to agree that they’d fall on my list: \*\*Garbanzo Nosegay \*\* ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443/40 "2005-03-08T13:51:53Z")
> [@HG Pennypacker](#): > > “cunt.” > > No not you, I’m just responding to your question. 😃 Yeah, this is the one I was going to nominate. In addition to it’s offensiveness, it is just a plain damn ugly word. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-ugliest-word-in-english/293443.md?page=3)