monstrous

adjective

mon·strous | \ ˈmän(t)-strəs

Definition of monstrous

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 obsolete : strange, unnatural

2 : having extraordinary often overwhelming size : gigantic stuffing a monstrous sandwich down his throat— Mike Flaherty a monstrous skyscraper

3a : having the qualities or appearance of a monster came face to face with a monstrous creature— Lester David

b obsolete : teeming with monsters

4a : extraordinarily ugly or vicious : horrible a monstrous crime monstrous mayhem

b : shockingly wrong or ridiculous the legend assumed monstrous proportions— Louis Untermeyer a monstrous miscalculation

5 : deviating greatly from the natural form or character : abnormal a monstrous melon

6 : very great —used as an intensive a monstrous hammering on his door— G. D. Browna monstrous hangover

monstrous

adverb

Definition of monstrous (Entry 2 of 2)

chiefly dialectal

: very, extremely a monstrous long raft— Mark Twain

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Choose the Right Synonym for monstrous

Adjective

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

Don't let the star power fool you: Ted Bundy was a real person, and his crimes were monstrous. — Alexis Jones, Marie Claire, "Elizabeth Kendall's Ted Bundy Memoir Is the Inspiration Behind the New Netflix Film," 3 May 2019 The last two groups become increasingly and irredeemably monstrous as the film progresses. — Adi Robertson, The Verge, "Assassination Nation is a vicious, cathartic horror film about misogyny," 21 Sep. 2018 The left disparages masculinity as evil and Western civilization as monstrous, hoping to extinguish the intellectual and moral legacy that created the U.S. in the first place. — Lance Morrow, WSJ, "America Is Torn Between Trump’s Fibs and Progressives’ Fantasies," 15 Feb. 2019 The Nova rocket program would rely on scaling up existing technology, which meant the possibility of fewer surprises but guaranteed extended timelines and the need for a massive budget to construct the monstrous rocket. — Alex Hollings, Popular Mechanics, "The Saturn V Story: From Nazi Roots to America's Moon Rocket," 6 Feb. 2019 Today, despite being fifty years old, this frankenplane can still transport monstrous cargo, even outmatching the C-5 Galaxy by volume. — David Hambling, Popular Mechanics, "Why the Super Guppy Is Such a Badass Plane," 17 Dec. 2018 The monstrous creatures do resemble horror’s beloved freaks. — Julia Alexander, The Verge, "Epic would really like you to stop calling the new Fortnite monsters ‘zombies’," 24 Oct. 2018 Drake's Scorpion is already off to a monstrous start, as the album broke the one-week U.S. streaming record for an album in just three days. — Xander Zellner, Billboard, "13 Things to Know About the Charts This Week: A Lot to 'Like,' as Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin Hit No. 1 on Hot 100," 7 July 2018 In this world, the Peggies are unreal, even monstrous enemies, fueled by violence-inducing mind-control drugs and the flimsy propaganda of their mildly charismatic leader (a David Koresh lookalike named Joseph Seed) to go to war in the countryside. — Julie Muncy, WIRED, "All Games Are Illusions, But Far Cry 5 Is Nothing More," 9 Apr. 2018

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