monster
Use Monster in a sentence
stər noun
1.
a legendary animal combining features of animal and human form or having the forms of various animals in combination, as a centaur, griffin, or sphinx.
2.
any creature so ugly or monstrous as to frighten people.
3.
any animal or human grotesquely deviating from the normal shape, behavior, or character.
4.
a person who excites horror by wickedness, cruelty, etc.
5.
any animal or thing huge in size.
adjective
8.
huge; enormous; monstrous: a monster tree.
00:10
Monster
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English monstre < Latin mōnstrum portent, unnatural event, monster, equivalent to mon(ēre) to warn + -strum noun suffix
1250–1300; Middle English monstre < Latin mōnstrum portent, unnatural event, monster, equivalent to mon(ēre) to warn + -strum noun suffix
Related forms
mon·ster·like, adjective
Synonyms
4. fiend, brute, demon, devil, miscreant.
4. fiend, brute, demon, devil, miscreant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To monster
Collins
World English Dictionary
monster (ˈmɒnstə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an imaginary beast, such as a centaur, usually made up of various animal or human parts |
| 2. | a person, animal, or plant with a marked structural deformity |
| 3. | a cruel, wicked, or inhuman person |
| 4. | a. a very large person, animal, or thing |
| b. (as modifier): a monster cake | |
| —vb | |
| 5. | informal (Austral), (NZ) to criticize (a person or group) severely |
| 6. | (Austral), (NZ) sport to use intimidating tactics against (an opponent) |
| [C13: from Old French monstre, from Latin monstrum portent, from monēre to warn] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
monster
c.1300, "malformed animal, creature afflicted with a birth defect," from O.Fr. monstre, from L. monstrum "monster, monstrosity, omen, portent, sign," from root of monere "warn" (see monitor). Abnormal or prodigious animals were regarded as signs or omens of impending evil.
Extended c.1385 to imaginary animals composed of parts of creatures (centaur, griffin, etc.). Meaning "animal of vast size" is from 1530; sense of "person of inhuman cruelty or wickedness" is from 1556. In O.E., the monster Grendel was an aglæca, a word related to aglæc "calamity, terror, distress, oppression."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
monster mon·ster (mŏn'stər)
n.
An animal, a plant, or other organism having structural defects or deformities.
A fetus or an infant that is grotesquely abnormal and usually not viable.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary
monster definition
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
monster
in biology, an embryo, a newborn animal, or young plant that is grossly deformed. The defects may be genetic (i.e., inherited) or result from such influences as drugs, X rays, or diseases. Two main types of monster are recognized: those with defective or excessive growth of body parts and those with partial or complete doubling of the body on one of its axes. The repetition or absence of body parts such as fingers or toes are frequent anomalies in humans and other mammals.
Learn more about monster with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
It is one small step for science education, and one giant leap for monster kind.
His critics often tried to make him into some kind of monster for that.
For example, animators will use it to determine how a patch of hair will move when a monster brushes up against an object.
The student-loan system has grown into an out-of-control monster tearing at the fabric of civil society.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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