Frankenstein
Americannoun
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a person who creates a monster or a destructive agency that cannot be controlled or that brings about the creator's ruin.
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Also called Frankenstein monster. the monster or destructive agency itself.
noun
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a person who creates something that brings about his ruin
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Also called: Frankenstein's monster. a thing that destroys its creator
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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.”
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Frankenstein
First recorded in 1830–40; after a character in Mary Shelley's novel of the same name (1818)
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.
Flatworms are highly effective at rebuilding their own bodies, but these fused "Frankenstein" worms rejected tissue from unrelated individuals.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Ward added that “I’d rather drink full-sugar, Mexican Coke or, shock, Pepsi Zero, than allow the soulless Frankenstein monster known as Diet Coke to pass my lips.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
Films including The Mummy, The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula became global box-office hits, starring actors including Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
From BBC ● May 9, 2026
Guillermo del Toro, the director of "Frankenstein," which will compete for the best picture Oscar on Sunday, is notoriously anti-AI, insisting he would "rather die" than use it.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
“I’ll admit that this Frankenstein Complex you’re exhibiting has a certain justification—hence the First Law in the first place. But the Law, I repeat and repeat, has not been removed—merely modified.”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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.
