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Frankenstein

[ frang-kuh n-stahyn ]
/ ˈfræŋ kənˌstaɪn /

noun

a person who creates a monster or a destructive agency that cannot be controlled or that brings about the creator's ruin.
Also called Frankenstein monster. the monster or destructive agency itself.

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transliterate
to remove or destroy all traces of.
to change (letters, words, etc.), into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language.
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Origin of Frankenstein

First recorded in 1830–40; after a character in Mary Shelley's novel of the same name (1818)

OTHER WORDS FROM Frankenstein

Frank·en·stein·i·an, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to frankenstein

giant, devil, freak, behemoth, horror, demon, beast, villain, whale, dragon, savage, mutant, titan, ogre, colossus, brute, barbarian, abnormality, mammoth, hellion

Example sentences from the Web for frankenstein

British Dictionary definitions for frankenstein

Frankenstein
/ (ˈfræŋkɪnˌstaɪn) /

noun

a person who creates something that brings about his ruin
Also called: Frankenstein's monster a thing that destroys its creator

Derived forms of Frankenstein

Frankensteinian, adjective

Word Origin for Frankenstein

C19: after Baron Frankenstein, who created a destructive monster from parts of corpses in the novel by Mary Shelley (1818)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for frankenstein

Frankenstein

(1818) A novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. The title character, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, makes a manlike monster from parts of cadavers and brings it to life by the power of an electrical charge. Frankenstein's monster is larger than most men and fantastically strong.

notes for Frankenstein

Frequently the subject of horror films, the monster is usually pictured with an oversized square brow, metal bolts in his neck and forehead, and greenish skin. People often mistakenly refer to the monster, rather than to his creator, as “Frankenstein.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.