monstrous

[mon-struhs]

adjective

1. frightful or hideous, especially in appearance; extremely ugly.

   Synonyms: atrocious, horrible

2. shocking or revolting; outrageous.

   monstrous cruelty.

   Synonyms: atrocious, horrible

3. extraordinarily great; huge; immense.

   a monstrous building.

4. deviating grotesquely from the natural or normal form or type.

5. having the nature or appearance of a fabulous monster.

adverb

1. extremely; exceedingly; very.

monstrous

/ ˈmɒnstrəs /

adjective

1. abnormal, hideous, or unnatural in size, character, etc

2. (of plants and animals) abnormal in structure

3. outrageous, atrocious, or shocking

   it is monstrous how badly he is treated

4. huge

   a monstrous fire

5. of, relating to, or resembling a monster

Other Word Forms

• monstrously adverb
• monstrousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of monstrous¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word mōnstrōsus. See monster, -ous

Synonym Study

See gigantic.

Example Sentences

“This was a monstrous act of cruelty that shattered an entire family,” L.A.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The aboatia gives a few slow blinks before offering a monstrous yawn.

Read more on Literature

However, his wife, the Baroness Hoover, was monstrous, rude, and condescending, and like the Earl of Maytag, she scarcely considered the Incorrigibles to be human.

Read more on Literature

But Russian thistle is a monstrous piece of botanical grotesquerie, loathed by all.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Circumstances spiral, cruelty reasserts itself and The Creature learns — again — that humans will never see him as anything but monstrous, no matter how faithfully he tries to mirror their kindness.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• atrocious 
• dreadful 
• egregious 
• freakish 
• frightful 
• grotesque 
• gruesome 
• heinous 
• hideous 
• horrendous 
• horrible 
• horrifying 
• inhuman 
• intolerable 
• obscene 
• odious 
• outrageous 
• preposterous 
• terrible 
• vicious