My friend recently said "My parents got me the most ugly Sherry glasses I've ever seen". He is a native English speaker and said that 'most ugly' in this context is correct even though I've always only heard the superlative as "ugliest".
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The uncommon usage makes for emphasis (they really were VERY ugly). – Dan Dec 24 '18 at 21:37
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Why would it not be correct? – Hot Licks Dec 24 '18 at 21:53
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1Part of the general rule is that two-syllable words ending in /i/ or /o/ (e.g, pretty and narrow) form the comparative and superlative with suffixes, while other bisyllabic words use more and most. Since ugly and pretty both meet the conditions, ugliest and prettiest are more common. But this is a rule in flux -- it seems clear that English is headed toward fewer inflections, and probably more and most will extend to all bisyllabic words soon enough. – John Lawler Dec 24 '18 at 22:34
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1I don't see anything uncommon about its usage. If I think something is the ugliest 'something' I've ever seen I may use "ugliest" or "most ugly" @Bharg Ugliest means "most ugly" and vice versa, by definition of superlative inflection: "they express the most extreme degree of comparison," - The Farlex Grammar Book. The safest bet is to use most 'adjective', as some adjectives inflected with the superlative suffix "-est" sound strange, ie., "willingest participant"/ "most willing participant". – Zebrafish Dec 24 '18 at 23:43
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@sumelic This seems to be a simple question of using superlative inflection "-est" vs "most -adj-". I'm always hesitant to close vote, but I really think this is simply a duplicate as it seems it's basically asking whether one or the other should be used. – Zebrafish Dec 25 '18 at 04:42
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@sumelic Yes, I voted to close as duplicate, using your duplicate question link. – Zebrafish Dec 25 '18 at 05:06
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Possibly related: “Most” as an intensifier, not as a superlative (not answered), Is “most” an adjective or an adverb in the following phrase? and Do I need to put “the” before “most” in this sentence? (see in particular phenry’s answer). – Scott - Слава Україні Dec 25 '18 at 06:16