grotesque

[groh-tesk]

adjective

1. odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre.

   Synonyms: wild, antic, weird, deformed, distorted

2. fantastic in the shaping and combination of forms, as in decorative work combining incongruous human and animal figures with scrolls, foliage, etc.

noun

1. any grotesque object, design, person, or thing.

grotesque

/ ɡrəʊˈtɛsk /

adjective

1. strangely or fantastically distorted; bizarre

   a grotesque reflection in the mirror

2. of or characteristic of the grotesque in art

3. absurdly incongruous; in a ludicrous context

   a grotesque turn of phrase

noun

1. a 16th-century decorative style in which parts of human, animal, and plant forms are distorted and mixed

2. a decorative device, as in painting or sculpture, in this style

3. printing the family of 19th-century sans serif display types

4. any grotesque person or thing

Other Word Forms

• grotesquely adverb
• grotesqueness noun
• ungrotesque adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of grotesque¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from French, from Italian grottesca (from pittura grottesca, opera grottesca “grotesque painting, decoration” such as was apparently found in excavated buildings), the feminine of grottesco “grotesque, uncouth,” derivative of grotta “cave.” See grotto, -esque

Word History and Origins

Origin of grotesque¹

C16: from French, from Old Italian ( pittura ) grottesca cave painting, from grottesco of a cave, from grotta cave; see _grotto

Synonym Study

See bizarre.

Example Sentences

Writers called the trees “grotesque,” “infernal” and “uncouth.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As I wrote recently, Elon Musk’s fixation with Britain’s current social and political crisis seems to be rooted in misbegotten anglophile nostalgia and a grotesque misreading of “The Lord of the Rings.”

Read more on Salon

"I went to university in Nottingham to study history, and I've always been really interested in the more gruesome and grotesque elements of history," she said.

Read more on BBC

As of the early 1990s, women’s boxing still attracted such meager purses that she is seen resorting to grotesque means of making money, urged on by her husband.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Mamdani was able to snag the spotlight while painting detractors as grotesque, and all without him having to express an ounce of anger.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• absurd 
• bizarre 
• eerie 
• fanciful 
• fantastic 
• ludicrous 
• monstrous 
• odd 
• outlandish 
• preposterous 
• ridiculous 
• strange 
• surrealistic 
• whimsical