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grotesque

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word grotesque different from other adjectives like it?

The words bizarre and fantastic are common synonyms of grotesque. While all three words mean "conceived, made, or carried out without adherence to truth or reality," grotesque may apply to what is conventionally ugly but artistically effective or it may connote ludicrous awkwardness or incongruity often with sinister or tragic overtones.

grotesque statues on the cathedral
though grieving, she made a grotesque attempt at a smile

When could bizarre be used to replace grotesque?

In some situations, the words bizarre and grotesque are roughly equivalent. However, bizarre applies to the sensationally strange and implies violence of contrast or incongruity of combination.

a bizarre medieval castle in the heart of a modern city

When would fantastic be a good substitute for grotesque?

The words fantastic and grotesque are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, fantastic may connote extravagance in conception or ingenuity of decorative invention.

dreamed up fantastic rumors

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grotesque
Adjective
Reddit users immediately rushed to share both their shock and poke fun at the incident through lighthearted takes and grotesque anecdotes about the dangers that may be lurking in some seafood dishes. Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025 The viral series has proved wildly popular with Gen Alpha but controversial with parents—each episode features grotesque images of heads poking out of stained toilet bowls, engaged in a fierce battle with mechanical men made of media equipment, such as speakers, televisions and cameras. Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Noun
Winifred, the protagonist of this Victorian-era grotesque, takes a position as a governess at an English manor. The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025 His early short films, such as Six Men Getting Sick (1967) and The Grandmother (1970), showcased his talent for blending the grotesque with the beautiful, setting the stage for his groundbreaking debut feature, Eraserhead (1977). Darryn King, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for grotesque
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grotesque
Adjective
  • No loud colors, no mismatched chairs, even the waiters had to wear off-white.
    Nicholas Rice, People.com, 5 July 2025
  • Ocean City officials have confirmed that fireworks — not gunfire — were the source of loud noises that caused panic and sent crowds scrambling on the boardwalk Friday night.
    Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 5 July 2025
Adjective
  • The wild and ugly scenes saw rioters attack law enforcement with rocks and Molotov cocktails while others burned vehicles and other property.
    Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2025
  • The pair hit an ugly double-spinebuster on the Arabic announce table.
    Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Noun
  • Call of Cthulhu flipped a lot of gaming conventions on their head with characters that degraded over time and scenarios that rewarded fleeing monsters instead of slaying them.
    Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
  • Murphy also ordered the feds to provide the monsters with interpreters and counsel.
    Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • Come spring, the Ranger III carries everything from outhouses and diesel fuel for the generators to construction supplies to repair whatever damage Mother Nature did to facilities over the harsh winter.
    Diana Lambdin Meyer, USA Today, 28 June 2025
  • The United States and Europe must finally sever all economic ties with Russia (e.g., nuclear partnerships) and impose harsher sanctions on Russia and secondary sanctions so that China and others face consequences for their support of the war.
    Laura Thornton, Twin Cities, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • One function of bug poems is to remind us that messier and more hideous relations always obtain.
    Hannah Brooks-Motl June 2, Literary Hub, 2 June 2025
  • An alarming situation looked all the more hideous as boos rained down at Dodger Stadium for the club’s fourth straight loss.
    Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 20 May 2025
Noun
  • High-end grotesqueries out of Fellini or Visconti would have been more apt.
    Alex Ross, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
  • By contrast, Doom: The Dark Ages flings the player back into the dark ages to witness a war between two factions that look like a low-rent knock-off imitation of series like Warhammer — grotesqueries and all.
    Kazuma Hashimoto, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Somewhere in a far-off third-world nation, children die at a jarring rate from malnutrition.
    Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 July 2025
  • Millennial and older thrill-seekers may remember rides like Orient Express, a red double-loop steel roller coaster or Timber Wolf, a jarring wooden coaster that is currently closed for the 2025 season.
    Abbey Briscoe, Kansas City Star, 4 July 2025
Adjective
  • Smears on non-sensor areas of the tiara are like bug debris on your hood, aesthetically unpleasing but not harmful.
    Eric Tegler, Popular Mechanics, 1 Oct. 2019
  • His side's inability to finish off the game against Burnley on the other hand was very unpleasing.
    SI.com, SI.com, 1 Feb. 2018

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Cite this Entry

“Grotesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grotesque. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

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