In slang, chopped means ugly or unattractive: a harsh verdict on someone's looks. In recipes it still means cut into pieces, but on social media and among friends it judges how someone looks in a photo or after a haircut. The tone is harsh: said about someone else, it's hurtful, so people mostly joke about themselves: I look so chopped in this photo. It has no place in an essay or in IELTS Speaking; neutral options are not very attractive or, about a bad photo, I look terrible in this photo.
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be/look + chopped; look chopped in + photo/video; so/kinda + chopped
- delete that pic, I look so chopped with my eyes half closed
- be honest, does this haircut make me look chopped?
- lol you're not chopped, the lighting in that photo is just awful
What changed
First versionDon't post that photo, I look like chopped in it.
RevisionDon't post that photo, I look chopped in it.
Look like comes before a noun: you look like your mum. Before an adjective, and chopped is an adjective here, you need just look: I look chopped. Only like was removed.
Chopped gets confused with cooked: both sound like a verdict, but cooked means I'm done for and describes a hopeless situation: I didn't study at all, I'm cooked. Chopped is only about how someone looks. And in everyday language the word keeps its old meaning: finely chopped garlic, chopped tomatoes.
Your turn
My little brother says I look ___ in my new glasses, so I'm taking them back to the shop.
Show the answer
chopped — Your brother is judging how you look in your new glasses, which is about appearance, so it's chopped. Cooked means you're done for and describes a hopeless situation; glasses have nothing to do with it.
Write to a friend about a bad photo: jokingly call yourself chopped and explain what went wrong in the picture.
lol I look so chopped in the team photo, I blinked right when they took it.
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