grotesque
Americanadjective
noun
-
grotesques
plural
adjective
-
strangely or fantastically distorted; bizarre
a grotesque reflection in the mirror
-
of or characteristic of the grotesque in art
-
absurdly incongruous; in a ludicrous context
a grotesque turn of phrase
noun
-
a 16th-century decorative style in which parts of human, animal, and plant forms are distorted and mixed
-
a decorative device, as in painting or sculpture, in this style
-
printing the family of 19th-century sans serif display types
-
any grotesque person or thing
Synonym Usage
See bizarre.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of grotesque
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
Compare meaning
How does grotesque compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Use grotesque to describe things that are very strange and ugly in an unnatural way. If something "grosses you out," you can safely refer to it as grotesque. Grotesque also refers to a style of art that uses odd and fanciful combinations of natural, human, and animal forms. The original reference was to cave paintings found in ancient Roman ruins. Our English word is from French, from Italian grottesca pittura, "a cave painting," from grotta, "cave." Italian grotta is the source of our English word grotto.
Vocabulary lists containing grotesque
"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Holes
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Marigolds," Vocabulary from the short story
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Competitors are judged on their ability to pull the ugliest or most grotesque face.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
She physically twists Odysseus’ men into pigs in a grotesque sequence of body horror, with no romance, yearlong idyll or magical help.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
And Neill relished that ability, returning time and again to characters whose unpredictability mirrored life’s, creating an oeuvre that is both grotesque and supremely human.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Nor are the formerly enslaved Americans who forced the nation to confront the grotesque contradiction between slavery and constitutional liberty.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
The result is a grotesque, semi-feline mask, which now squints at us distrustfully.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Part of this is in the rich tradition of European reporters sojourning in the United States who find casual grotesques about Americans far more lucrative and less taxing than actually trying to meet the natives.
From Slate ● Mar. 10, 2026
But he had his own quirky, even obsessive interests—in all things ancient and Roman, in architecture, and especially in the hybrid ornamental figures known as grotesques.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
With the genre claiming 17% of the domestic box office for 2025, production studios are eager to feed our seemingly bottomless appetite for cinematic grotesques, especially those based on true stories.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2025
The Watergate grotesques form a small portion of the weird and sometimes wacky, but always carefully curated, world of Ellison.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
"Speaking for the grotesques," he said, "I beg to differ. Death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
