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

Behaving like an duchess while living in a suburb, Bucket's monstrous social-climbing schemes were ultimately doomed to failure - while she battled to maintain her dignity.

From BBC

"He was absolutely slammed down by the architectural establishment," said Clarke of the King's attacks on some modern design plans, such as in 1984 calling a proposed extension to the National Gallery a "monstrous carbuncle".

From BBC

And DeChambeau delivered straight away, dropping the winning birdie after a monstrous drive.

From BBC

The then Prince of Wales described a proposed extension of London's National Gallery as a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend".

From BBC

It’s the first installment of a planned trilogy that will span the final showdown between the Demon Slayer Corps and the monstrous creatures the secret organization was created to defeat.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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