feio

Feio is a Portuguese adjective meaning ugly. It describes physical unattractiveness or something aesthetically displeasing, and it can be extended metaphorically to refer to poor quality or undesirable conditions. The masculine form is feio, the feminine feia, with the plural feios and feias.

In everyday language, feio is widely used across Portuguese-speaking regions. It can modify nouns directly (uma casa feia), describe appearances in predicates (a camisa ficou feia), or appear in fixed expressions expressing disapproval or discomfort (isso é feio, que coisa feia). The term can carry a range of intensities, from mild criticism to stronger insult depending on tone and context.

Etymology: Feio originates in the Romance language family and has cognates across Portuguese and other related languages. Its use as a descriptor reflects historical and cultural notions of beauty and form in Iberian and Lusophone communities.

Usage and perception: As with many adjectives describing appearance, feio can be neutral or pejorative depending on context, speaker intent, and relationship between speaker and listener. It is commonly encountered in everyday speech, literature, and media as a straightforward descriptive term or as part of idiomatic expressions.

See also: Ugly (in Portuguese: feio, feia) and discussions of aesthetics in Portuguese-language sources.