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6 dictionary results for: monstrous

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mon·strous

[mon-struh

s] Pronunciation Key

–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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mon·strous (mŏn'strəs) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Shockingly hideous or frightful.
Exceptionally large; enormous: a monstrous tidal wave.
Deviating greatly from the norm in appearance or structure; abnormal.
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.

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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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

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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]

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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.

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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.

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