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grotesque

 - 3 dictionary results

gro⋅tesque

  [groh-tesk]
Use grotesque in a Sentence
–adjective
1. odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre.
2. fantastic in the shaping and combination of forms, as in decorative work combining incongruous human and animal figures with scrolls, foliage, etc.
–noun
3. any grotesque object, design, person, or thing.
Origin:
1555–65; < F < It grottesco (as n., grottesca grotesque decoration such as was appar. found in excavated dwellings), deriv. of grotta. See grotto, -esque

Related forms:
gro⋅tesque⋅ly, adverb
gro⋅tesque⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. distorted, deformed, weird, antic, wild. See fantastic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To grotesque
gro·tesque   (grō-těsk')   
adj.  

  1. Characterized by ludicrous or incongruous distortion, as of appearance or manner.

  2. Outlandish or bizarre, as in character or appearance. See Synonyms at fantastic.

  3. Of, relating to, or being the grotesque style in art or a work executed in this style.

n.  

  1. One that is grotesque.

    1. A style of painting, sculpture, and ornamentation in which natural forms and monstrous figures are intertwined in bizarre or fanciful combinations.

    2. A work of art executed in this style.


[From French, a fanciful style of decorative art, from Italian grottesca, from feminine of grottesco, of a grotto, from grotta, grotto; see grotto.]
gro·tesque'ly adv., gro·tesque'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

grotesque 
1561, originally a noun, from M.Fr. crotesque, from It. grottesco, lit. "of a cave," from grotta (see grotto). Used first of paintings found on the walls of basements of Roman ruins (It. pittura grottesca). Originally "fanciful, fantastic," sense became pejorative after mid-18c. Grotty, slang shortening, had a brief vogue 1964 as part of Liverpool argot popularized by The Beatles in "A Hard Day's Night."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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