freak show
noun
1
dated
: an exhibition (such as a sideshow) featuring people with physical abnormalities
2
: something that attracts attention for being strange, abnormal, or unseemly
… people who are turning our politics into a freak show for their own cynical or sanctimonious reasons.—
David Von Drehle
David Von DrehleExamples of freak show in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But when a grubby circus impresario, Fulbert Freakfinder, arrives offering Stitch Head a starring role in his freak show, our hero is tempted by the promise of love and acceptance.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
Occurring more than halfway through the performance, the scene is used to introduce the tragic backstory of the Phantom character at a freak show — a new narrative deviating from the original source material.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
From murder houses and witch covens to freak shows and haunted hotels, AHS has horror fans covered.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025
In his new collection Night Watch; poems, poet Kevin Young attends to as seemingly disparate topics: the moon, Dante’s Divine Comedy, birds, conjoined twin singers made into a freak show act, graves, flowers.
—Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
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Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
Occurring more than halfway through the performance, the scene is used to introduce the tragic backstory of the Phantom character at a freak show — a new narrative deviating from the original source material.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
From murder houses and witch covens to freak shows and haunted hotels, AHS has horror fans covered.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025
In his new collection Night Watch; poems, poet Kevin Young attends to as seemingly disparate topics: the moon, Dante’s Divine Comedy, birds, conjoined twin singers made into a freak show act, graves, flowers.
—Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for freak show
Cite this Entry
“Freak show.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freak%20show. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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