monstrous

¹mon·strous

adjective \ˈmän(t)-strəs\

Definition of MONSTROUS

1

obsolete : strange, unnatural

2

: having extraordinary often overwhelming size : gigantic

3

a : having the qualities or appearance of a monster

b obsolete : teeming with monsters

4

a : extraordinarily ugly or vicious : horrible

b : shockingly wrong or ridiculous

5

: deviating greatly from the natural form or character : abnormal

6

: very great —used as an intensive

— mon·strous·ly adverb

— mon·strous·ness noun

Examples of MONSTROUS

1. It was monstrous of him to keep the truth from them all those years.
2. <a monstrous melon that was clearly not fit to eat>

First Known Use of MONSTROUS

15th century

Related to MONSTROUS

Synonyms

deformed, distorted, misshapen, malformed, shapeless

Antonyms

undeformed

Related Words

defaced, disfigured; aberrant, abnormal, freakish, mutant; asymmetrical (or asymmetric), crooked, disproportionate, irregular, lopsided, nonsymmetrical, overbalanced, unbalanced, unequal; horrible, horrific, terrible; ugly, unattractive

Near Antonyms

shapely; flawless, perfect

Synonym Discussion of MONSTROUS

monstrous, prodigious, tremendous, stupendous mean extremely impressive. monstrous implies a departure from the normal (as in size, form, or character) and often carries suggestions of deformity, ugliness, or fabulousness <the monstrous waste of the project>. prodigious suggests a marvelousness exceeding belief, usually in something felt as going far beyond a previous maximum (as of goodness, greatness, intensity, or size) <made a prodigious effort and rolled the stone aside>. tremendous may imply a power to terrify or inspire awe <the tremendous roar of the cataract>. stupendous implies a power to stun or astound, usually because of size, numbers, complexity, or greatness beyond description <a stupendous volcanic eruption>.

²monstrous

adverb

Definition of MONSTROUS

chiefly dialect

: very, extremely <a monstrous long raft — Mark Twain>

Examples of MONSTROUS

1. <a monstrous pretty gal, she was>

First Known Use of MONSTROUS

1590

Related to MONSTROUS

Synonyms

achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly (also exceeding), extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, far, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, jolly, majorly, mightily, mighty, very [chiefly dialect], mortally, most, much, particularly, passing, rattling, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, sore, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly

Antonyms

little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat

Related Words

absolutely, altogether, completely, downright, entirely, flat-out, fully, positively, purely, radically, thoroughly, totally, utterly, wholly; deeply, profoundly; exceptionally, notably, remarkably; considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially; appreciably, discernibly, markedly, noticeably, obviously, palpably, plainly, visibly; abundantly, plentifully; astronomically, grandly, monstrously, monumentally; excessively, obscenely, overmuch; amazingly, astonishingly, staggeringly

Near Antonyms

meagerly, scantily; barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely