6 dictionary results for: monstrous
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mon·strous
[mon-struh
s] Pronunciation Key
[mon-struh
s] Pronunciation Key –adjective
–adverb
| 1. | frightful or hideous, esp. in appearance; extremely ugly. |
| 2. | shocking or revolting; outrageous: monstrous cruelty. |
| 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. |
| 6. | extremely; exceedingly; very. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| mon·strous
(mŏn'strəs) Pronunciation Key
adj.
[Middle English, from Old French monstruos, from Latin mōnstruōsus, from mōnstrum, portent, monster; see monster.] mon'strous·ly adv., mon'strous·ness n. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
monstrous
monstrous
1460, "unnatural, deviating from the natural order, hideous," from L. monstruosus "strange, unnatural," from monstrum (see monster). Meaning "enormous" is from 1500; that of "outrageously wrong" is from 1573. Monstrosity "abnormality of growth" is from 1555, from L.L. monstrositas "strangeness," from L. monstrosus, a collateral form of monstruosus (cf. Fr. monstruosité). Sense of "quality of being monstrous" is first recorded 1656. Noun meaning "a monster" is attested from 1643.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| monstrous | |
adjective | |
| 1. | abnormally large |
| 2. | shockingly brutal or cruel; "murder is an atrocious crime"; "a grievous offense against morality"; "a grievous crime"; "no excess was too monstrous for them to commit" [syn: atrocious] |
| 3. | distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous; "tales of grotesque serpents eight fathoms long that churned the seas"; "twisted into monstrous shapes" [syn: grotesque] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Monstrous
Mon"strous\, a. [OE. monstruous, F. monstrueux, fr. L. monstruosus, fr. monstrum. See Monster.]1. Marvelous; strange. [Obs.] 2. Having the qualities of a monster; deviating greatly from the natural form or character; abnormal; as, a monstrous birth. --Locke. He, therefore, that refuses to do good to them whom he is bound to love . . . is unnatural and monstrous in his affections. --Jer. Taylor. 3. Extraordinary in a way to excite wonder, dislike, apprehension, etc.; -- said of size, appearance, color, sound, etc.; as, a monstrous height; a monstrous ox; a monstrous story. 4. Extraordinary on account of ugliness, viciousness, or wickedness; hateful; horrible; dreadful. So bad a death argues a monstrous life. --Shak. 5. Abounding in monsters. [R.] Where thou, perhaps, under the whelming tide Visitest the bottom of the monstrous world. --Milton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Monstrous
Mon"strous\, adv. Exceedingly; very; very much. "A monstrous thick oil on the top." --Bacon. And will be monstrous witty on the poor. --Dryden.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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