Franken-
American-
Usually Disparaging. a combining form extracted from Frankenstein (the monster), used especially before a food, and meaning “genetically engineered”.
Frankentomatoes; a Frankenfood.
-
this combining form used before something that is a hybrid of disparate parts, and meaning "strange or frightening".
a dangerous Frankenstorm; incredible Frankenpastries.
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.
A year later, however, Safire returned to franken- in dead earnest.
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2017
Just as Shelley’s monster got away from his creator, franken- has wandered a bit from its origins.
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2017
All of this is to say that franken-, the prefix we use to talk about human efforts to interfere with nature, flips between “funny” and “scary” with ease.
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2017
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.
