grotesque
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
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strangely or fantastically distorted; bizarre
a grotesque reflection in the mirror
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of or characteristic of the grotesque in art
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absurdly incongruous; in a ludicrous context
a grotesque turn of phrase
noun
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a 16th-century decorative style in which parts of human, animal, and plant forms are distorted and mixed
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a decorative device, as in painting or sculpture, in this style
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printing the family of 19th-century sans serif display types
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any grotesque person or thing
Synonym Usage
See bizarre.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
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Holes
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"Marigolds," Vocabulary from the short story
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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.
That sense of complexity fuels Vecna, the antagonist of “Stranger Things,” whose climactic final season sees the character, played by Jamie Campbell Bower, take on a multitude of faces — some human and some grotesque.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
One former SNP head of communications claimed "a routine process" had been turned into a "grotesque spectacle".
From BBC • May 25, 2026
But it is a perfect example of the kind of stories we are going to start seeing juxtaposed with Hegseth’s grotesque rhetoric in these first few days of the war.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026
This is a horrible, grotesque, and ongoing wrong, and that’s the level at which we need to engage.
From Slate • Feb. 3, 2026
Once, I started with terror at a ratcheting upon my foot, to find a horseshoe crab trundling past in search of a pool, its saber-tail and lobed armor grotesque in the extreme.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
