noun
-
an outrageous or ugly person or thing; monster
-
the state or quality of being monstrous
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of monstrosity
1545–55; < Late Latin mōnstrōsitās, equivalent to Latin mōnstrōs ( us ) monstrous + -itās -ity
Explanation
A monstrosity is something so hideous that you can hardly stand to look at it, like a zombie or an ugly modern building. A monster can certainly be described as a monstrosity, but so can anything that is as frightening or disgusting as a monster. A dictator's cruel regime is a monstrosity, and so is a three-headed fish. The word comes from the Latin word for monster, monstrum, with a root, monere, that means "warn," from the tradition of interpreting monstrous, deformed animals as omens — or warnings — of bad luck.
Vocabulary lists containing monstrosity
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Now that monstrosity is on the verge of being acquired by Paramount Skydance for $111 billion—though that will ultimately be decided next year following a big antitrust trial.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
This out of control monstrosity must be broken up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Anna Murphy, fashion director for the Times, called the "pale blue polyester tracksuit" a "monstrosity".
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Hughes pointed to the impact of the United States' 15-megaton Bravo test at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands on March 1, 1954 -- "equivalent to 1,000 Hiroshima bombs -- an absolute monstrosity".
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
One fairy used a golden lash to send a toadlike monstrosity crashing through the wall.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
"Look around you at these monstrosities of insanity, insolence, incompetence and degeneration," he declared in his opening address.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2025
Because despite these monstrosities being marketed as instruments of chaos, the company is really building family vehicles, Eisenband said.
From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2024
A good first step is to simply name hulking SUVs and pickup trucks for what they are: monstrosities whose size is deadly, destructive, and, for almost everyone who has one, utterly unnecessary.
From Slate ● Dec. 17, 2023
In the case of Mr. Jon, the inseam of these monstrosities would be so substantial that they barely qualified as shorts to the rational observer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2023
Up above, clouds will billow out of nowhere into dark monstrosities, pregnant with malevolent intent, and a clear blue sky is like a magnifying glass for a punishing sun.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
