monster

noun mon·ster \ ˈmän(t)-stər \

|Updated on: 17 Aug 2018

Examples: monster in a Sentence

Definition of monster

1 a : an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure

a mythical monster

a sea monster

b : one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character

an immoral monster

2 : a threatening force

the same monster — Destiny … that rolls every civilization to doom
—W. L. Sullivan

3 a : an animal of strange or terrifying shape

visualize this scaleless monster, eight or nine feet long, sprawling in the shade by the side of the mud pools
—W. E. Swinton

b : one unusually large for its kind

That truck is a monster.

4 : something monstrous; especially : a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty

His father was a monster who beat his children for no reason.

5 : one that is highly successful

That movie was a monster at the box office.

See monster defined for English-language learners

See monster defined for kids

Examples of monster in a Sentence

That car is a monster.
Inflation has become an economic monster.

Recent Examples of monster from the Web

The rest of the cast is terrific, too, especially Patricia Clarkson, as the mother who haunts Camille’s memories like a monster under the bed, and Eliza Scanlen, as the teenage half sister whom Camille doesn’t know.

— todd vanderwerff, Vox, "What makes HBO’s Sharp Objects so good is hiding in plain sight," 6 July 2018
Valedictorian Irene Swenson began her address focusing on memories - such as study skill classes, learning about flying spaghetti monsters, and scavenger hunts.

— quoron walker, Courant Community, "Bolton High Reflects At Graduation," 3 July 2018
Julius Randle became a monster over the final three months of the season, and watching him bully half the league was its own highlight of the NBA's second half.

— andrew sharp, SI.com, "Trusting the Lakers' Process in NBA Free Agency," 26 June 2018
Together, this team of adventurers traveled the world, going on adventures, solving mysteries, thwarting bad guys, monsters, and robots.

— josh weiss, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Incredibles 2' TV References Are More Than Easter Eggs," 17 June 2018
When the researchers programmed in supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, the black holes either turned those galaxies into donuts or drifted out from galactic centers like monsters on the prowl.

— natalie wolchover, WIRED, "The Universe Is Not a Simulation, but We Can Now Simulate It," 16 June 2018
Read More undefined The photos show what appear to be people in costume as monsters and other characters engaging in unexplained activity at night.

— don sweeney, sacbee, "Pastor says security camera captured shot of an angel. Others say it’s just a moth | The Sacramento Bee," 13 May 2018
The truly fearsome Mississippi doesn't start until the confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois, where the water emerges like a monster on par with the Amazon or Congo rivers.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Taming the mighty Mississippi: Troubles run deep in changing national waterway," 17 Mar. 2018
Let’s call these latest versions Frankenstein dresses—born of an impulse to cut and combine, like that sacred monster, made of parts that were never intended to end up together.

— lynn yaeger, Vogue, "Introducing Fashion’s Freakishly Cool New Trend: The Frankenstein Dress," 15 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'monster.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of monster

Middle English monstre, from Anglo-French, from Latin monstrum omen, monster, from monēre to warn — more at mind

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

monster Synonyms

monster

adjective

Definition of monster

: enormous or impressive especially in size, extent, or numbers

See monster defined for English-language learners

Examples of monster in a Sentence

The movie turned out to be a monster hit.

Origin and Etymology of monster

see ¹monster

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1837

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

monster Synonyms

Synonyms

astronomical (also astronomic), bumper, colossal, cosmic (also cosmical), elephantine, enormous, galactic, gargantuan, giant, gigantic, grand, herculean, heroic (also heroical), huge, humongous (also humungous), immense, jumbo, king-size (or king-sized), leviathan, mammoth, massive, mega, mighty, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, oceanic, planetary, prodigious, super, supersize, supersized, titanic, tremendous, vast, vasty, walloping, whacking, whopping;

Antonyms

bantam, bitty, diminutive, infinitesimal, little bitty, micro, microminiature, microscopic (also microscopical), midget, miniature, minuscule, minute, pocket, pygmy, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee;

Near Antonyms

little, mini, petite, pint-size (or pint-sized), puny, small, smallish, undersized (also undersize);

dinky, dwarfish, half-pint;

august, formidable, grandiose, imposing, lofty, majestic;

cavernous, monolithic, overwhelming, staggering, stupendous, towering;

boundless, immeasurable, infinite;

MONSTER Defined for English Language Learners

monster

noun

Definition of monster for English Language Learners

: a strange or horrible imaginary creature
: something that is extremely or unusually large
: a powerful person or thing that cannot be controlled and that causes many problems