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monstrous

 - 3 dictionary results

mon⋅strous

  [mon-struhs]
Use monstrous in a Sentence
–adjective
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.
–adverb
6. extremely; exceedingly; very.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L mōnstrōsus. See monster, -ous

Related forms:
mon⋅strous⋅ly, adverb
mon⋅strous⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1, 2. horrible, atrocious. 3. See gigantic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To monstrous
mon·strous   (mŏn'strəs)   
adj.  

  1. Shockingly hideous or frightful.

  2. Exceptionally large; enormous: a monstrous tidal wave.

  3. Deviating greatly from the norm in appearance or structure; abnormal.

  4. Of or resembling a fabulous monster.


[Middle English, from Old French monstruos, from Latin mōnstruōsus, from mōnstrum, portent, monster; see monster.]
mon'strous·ly adv., mon'strous·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

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
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