monstrous

1 of 2

adjective

mon·​strous ˈmän(t)-strəs How to pronounce monstrous (audio)
1
: having extraordinary often overwhelming size : gigantic
stuffing a monstrous sandwich down his throatMike Flaherty
a monstrous skyscraper
2
a
: extraordinarily ugly or vicious : horrible
a monstrous crime
monstrous mayhem
b
: shockingly wrong or ridiculous
the legend assumed monstrous proportionsLouis Untermeyer
a monstrous miscalculation
3
: deviating greatly from the natural form or character : abnormal
a monstrous melon
4
: very great
used as an intensive
a monstrous hammering on his doorG. D. Brown
a monstrous hangover
5
a
: having the qualities or appearance of a monster
came face to face with a monstrous creatureLester David
b
obsolete : teeming with monsters
6
obsolete : strange, unnatural
monstrously adverb
monstrousness noun

monstrous

2 of 2

adverb

chiefly dialectal
: very, extremely
a monstrous long raftMark Twain
Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of monstrous in a Sentence

Adjective It was monstrous of him to keep the truth from them all those years. a monstrous melon that was clearly not fit to eat Adverb a monstrous pretty gal, she was
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Buitrago, a Colombian prosecutor, put a number of generals responsible for monstrous human-rights violations in prison. Alma Guillermoprieto, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 The narrator recalls monstrous eyes staring back at her from the knots in her ceiling, but can find nowhere to hide. Peter Debruge, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024 Shortly after play resumed, Furphy took off from the left corner, went through the middle and delivered a monstrous jam. Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 1 Mar. 2024 This film merges the monstrous with the human, offering a narrative that explores humanity's vulnerability in the face of nature's wrath. Travis Bean, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 James Madison Year two under Poggi will yet again begin at home, hosting the James Madison Dukes who are coming off a monstrous 11-2 record in the program’s first year as an FBS team, including hosting College Gameday. Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 29 Feb. 2024 The sequel brings back a number of familiar faces, including Josh Brolin as the Atreides loyalist Gurney Halleck and Stellan Skarsgard as the monstrous Baron. Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 The last of those options, which is found in the i7, is a dual-motor setup that produces a monstrous 650 horses and 749 ft lbs of twist. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 29 Feb. 2024 The third-person shooter was so popular that some players couldn’t initially access the game’s overwhelmed servers to log on and start dealing damage to the monstrous space creatures that inhabit the game’s planets. Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'monstrous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 6

Adverb

1569, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of monstrous was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near monstrous

Cite this Entry

“Monstrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monstrous. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

monstrous

adjective
mon·​strous
ˈmän(t)-strəs
1
: unusually large : gigantic
2
: very ugly or vicious : horrible
3
: shockingly wrong or ridiculous
4
: very different from the usual form : abnormal
monstrously adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on monstrous

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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