Words / B2

YS-or/ˈaɪsɔː/

An eyesore is an ugly building or object, especially one that spoils a view: an eyesore; a concrete eyesore. Blot on the landscape is a close idiom; ugly is the everyday adjective. Calling a block an eyesore is not analysis; name the site and the planning note. Mix-up: eyesore vs eyesight (already in a B2 list); eyesore vs sore eye; do not write eyesore for a building you merely dislike with no public-view claim in the source.

Meaning

An ugly building or object, especially one that spoils a view.

Examples

• “Calling a block an eyesore is not analysis; name the site and the planning note.”
• “The chimney was an eyesore on the skyline, which is still a named structure — quote the height if given.”

Good to know

an eyesore; a concrete / modern eyesore. Close: blot on the landscape. Trap: eyesight / a private dislike with no view claimed. Geography, DT, and citizenship. Ugly in public view — name the structure and the site.

Near in meaning

blot, ugly building, monstrosity

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