Thread: What's a better word for ugly in Russian?

Originally Posted by Valda

безобразный or уродливый?

Not that I'm gonna start people name, but comprehensive knowledge is important!

Question for native speakers: My understanding is that урод and уродливый originally had the meaning of "a miscarried [i.e., born dead] fetus" or "a monstrously deformed baby" -- and the noun уродство can still mean "a severe physical abnormality at birth."



Thus, even though the word уродливый does not necessarily have this meaning nowadays, it's still a rather strong word suggesting "an extreme degree of ugliness." Is this correct?