ugly-cry — ODE

ugly-cry informal

▸ verb

( ugly-cries, ugly-crying, ugly-cried)

[no object] cry so intensely that one's facial expression becomes contorted:

as she walked down the aisle, the bride found that her groom was ugly-crying.

▸ noun

(plural ugly cries)

(ugly cry) a period of crying so intensely that one's facial expression becomes contorted:

the ending of the film will probably elicit an ugly cry.