If Libreoffice looks weirdly ugly and you're on a debian-based distro, try installing `libreoffice-gtk3`.

    sudo apt purge libreoffice*
    sudo apt install libreoffice-gtk3

I don't think MS Word is more intuitive. It's a trade-off between functionality and usability.

As a Linux user I (have to) use both Google Docs and LibreOffice.

Aside from collaborative editing, Google Docs is like an online version of Windows WordPad (not Notepad). It supports only a subset of MS Word but just enough for daily use. It refuses to open docs with advanced formatting -- my most recent example is a legal pleading.

LibreOffice supports more MS Word features, but is less polished and buggy. I occasionally find certain operations break the layout and a Ctrl-Z doesn't restore it.

What specifically is ugly?

Edit: I'm a developer. I'm literally asking so it can get addressed. I've actually had a look at the defaults and I can see a few issues that look like they should be reviewed, but I'm interested in what is considered a show stopper.

It's all very well to complain that something is "ugly", but it's so subjective that it can't be actioned in any way. If the point was to just complain, I suppose that's one thing you can do, but if you would like to make something less ugly you need to actually be more specific.

[dead]

google docs isn't ugly?

If I am honest that sounds like a perfect task for AI. Fork it and modernize the user interface.