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
The Pigman
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
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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:
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
Petro earlier called the threat of a 100 percent tariff "a monstrosity" and threatened to withdraw Colombia from the Andean Community of Nations, a trade bloc which also includes Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
Now there’s nothing to be done about it, including the fact that he plans to put a humongous monstrosity in its place — a large-scale ballroom that will dwarf the People’s House.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026
The sprawling Tudor monstrosity in the plutocrats’ retreat of Tuxedo Park, New York, had been built at the turn of the century by a wealthy banker and abandoned amid the grief of a family tragedy.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
"Look around you at these monstrosities of insanity, insolence, incompetence and degeneration," he declared in his opening address.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2025
Obtaining an ugly sweater used to mean digging around in thrift stores or the backs of closets to find sometimes handmade monstrosities embellished with all sorts of corny Christmas creatures.
From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2024
These monstrosities will smother beaches and erase views of the sea, but they are not high enough to block another 2011-sized wave.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2024
The topic of motherhood and the monstrosities of the perinatal sphere — conception, pregnancy, birth and pregnancy loss — has become a fully fledged pop culture genre.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2023
“I reckon everyone has those monstrosities in the city, ey?”
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
Definitions 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.
