not a pretty sight
- idiom
- Informal
:
no es una vista agradable
- The aftermath of the storm was not a pretty sight.
Examples
-
After the accident, the wreckage was not a pretty sight.
-
After the storm, the damage in the neighborhood was not a pretty sight.
-
After the long night, the kitchen was definitely not a pretty sight in the morning.
-
His dirty, mud-splattered clothes were not a pretty sight at the dinner table.
-
The aftermath of the accident was not a pretty sight for anyone passing by.
-
The scene in the abandoned house was not a pretty sight, with graffiti covering the walls and trash everywhere.
-
When the teacher entered the messy classroom, it was clear that the students' project had turned into not a pretty sight.
Synonyms
∞
1.5
Very bad or frightening in a way that makes you feel upset
179
5.5
Causing great fear or shock
92
3.7
Causing someone to feel very sad and upset
82
7.0
Very shocking and scary, causing fear or disgust
52
4.1
A very unpleasant thing that shocks or disgusts you
21
5.5
A building or object that looks very ugly in a place
1
5.9
A very unpleasant, shocking state that causes fear or disgust
So shocking or upsetting that many people cannot watch
An event that makes you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable
Antonyms
How Disturbing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'a pretty sight' denotes an attractive or pleasant scene, and the negation 'not' yields an unattractive or unpleasant scene, which maps to 'an unpleasant, shocking, or distressing situation.' This follows standard adjective+noun composition and negation patterns in English (and similar constructions exist in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows the words can reliably infer the meaning.
Etymology
Not a pretty sight paints a clear picture: imagine looking at something messy, damaged, or very upsetting. That's why people say not a pretty sight to mean a scene that is 'unpleasant' or 'shocking' to see.