grotesque

[ groh-tesk ]

/ groʊˈtɛsk /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: grotesque / grotesques / grotesquely / grotesqueness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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

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

noun

any grotesque object, design, person, or thing.

OTHER WORDS FOR grotesque

1 distorted, deformed, weird, antic, wild.

See synonyms for grotesque on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

synonym study for grotesque

1. See bizarre.

OTHER WORDS FROM grotesque

gro·tesque·ly, adverbgro·tesque·ness, nounun·gro·tesque, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use grotesque in a sentence

Such as a scene where a corpse is being disposed of in a grotesque manner while the car radio in the background blasts Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”
Jo Nesbo’s ‘The Kingdom’ is a suspenseful bundle of Norwegian noir that’s almost impossible to put down|Richard Lipez|November 9, 2020|Washington Post
And did you not also, in between shivers, admire how grotesquely pretty the shot was?
‘Penny Dreadful’ Is a Shameless Orgy of Blood, Gore, and Scary Fun|Kevin Fallon|May 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So, this is clearly freakazoid behavior, and is obviously a grotesquely inappropriate thing for a medical professional to do.
Where Does the Tea Party Find These People?|Michael Tomasky|February 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the past, Hamad has suffered some health problems, in part because he has diabetes and used to be grotesquely obese.
Qatar’s Succession Drama|Christopher Dickey|June 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST

A small, if nonsensical, price to pay for America to stop being so grotesquely fat.
Ding Dong, the Soda Ban Is Dead|Michael Moynihan|March 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Julia Tymoshenko languishes in a prison hospital, her privacy grotesquely invaded (almost every move she makes is videotaped).
Is Julia Tymoshenko Europe’s Aung San Suu Kyi?|Geoffrey Robertson|October 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Anselme, thus enjoined, lent an unwonted alacrity to his movements, waddling grotesquely like a hastening waterfowl.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
A horse or a tree or a clump of brush loomed up grotesquely in the vaporous blur.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
The third was a mournful-eyed Schree, clad in an ornamented smock-like garment, from which his thin limbs thrust grotesquely.
Valley of the Croen|Lee Tarbell
He rose, shaking himself together, and his glance fell on the three suspended socks bulging grotesquely.
The Woman Gives|Owen Johnson
Nowhere perhaps has the great water erosion of bygone aeons wrought more grotesquely and fantastically than in the Moqui basin.
Overland|John William De Forest

British Dictionary definitions for grotesque

grotesque

/ (ɡrəʊˈtɛsk) /

adjective

strangely or fantastically distorted; bizarrea grotesque reflection in the mirror

of or characteristic of the grotesque in art

absurdly incongruous; in a ludicrous contexta 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

Derived forms of grotesque

grotesquely, adverbgrotesqueness, noun

Word Origin for grotesque

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

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

grotesque

OTHER WORDS FOR grotesque

Origin of grotesque

synonym study for grotesque

OTHER WORDS FROM grotesque

Words related to grotesque

How to use grotesque in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for grotesque

Derived forms of grotesque

Word Origin for grotesque