Synonyms of grotesque

grotesque 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in loud

disagreeable to one's aesthetic or artistic sense

the gaudy, overdecorated interior of the gambling casino was just too grotesque for my taste

Synonyms & Similar Words

• loud
• harsh
• ugly
• jarring
• disgusting
• unpleasant
• unaesthetic
• grating
• tawdry
• gaudy
• bizarre
• garish
• repulsive
• acid
• inartistic
• obscene
• unpleasing
• tacky
• vulgar
• repugnant
• tasteless
• odd
• flashy
• artless
• gross
• inelegant
• crude
• uncouth
• clumsy
• disagreeable
• shocking
• dissonant
• outlandish
• uncultured
• raucous
• unartistic
• jolting
• unrefined
• rude
• unmusical
• graceless
• kinky
• inharmonious
• ragged
• raspy
• discordant
• disharmonious
• unmelodious
• off-key
• clashing
• blaring
• jangling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• aesthetic
• artistic
• beautiful
• artful
• esthetic
• attractive
• becoming
• good
• appealing
• harmonious
• agreeable
• aesthetical
• comely
• felicitous
• pleasing
• esthetical
• comforting
• soothing
• elegant
• graceful
• subdued
• calming
• seemly
• tasteful
• softened
• gracious
• refined
• polished
• cultured
• harmonizing

2

as in ugly

unpleasant to look at

that bloody Halloween mask is grotesque

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ugly
• hideous
• unpleasing
• disgusting
• awful
• monstrous
• unattractive
• unappealing
• vile
• unsightly
• homely
• unbeautiful
• unlovely
• horrible
• sickening
• repulsive
• loathsome
• revolting
• appalling
• uncomely
• abominable
• unpretty
• unhandsome
• ill-favored
• repugnant
• abhorrent
• nauseating
• horrid
• repellent
• dreadful
• distasteful
• gross
• nauseous
• repellant
• noisome
• unbecoming
• plain
• unaesthetic
• frumpy
• unshapely
• frumpish

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• beautiful
• attractive
• aesthetic
• stunning
• lovely
• gorgeous
• handsome
• pretty
• cute
• ravishing
• fair
• beauteous
• esthetic
• goodly
• good-looking
• seemly
• aesthetical
• comely
• drop-dead
• knockout
• fetching
• taking
• shapely
• impressive
• esthetical
• sightly
• imposing
• bonny
• well-favored
• bonnie
• prepossessing

grotesque

2 of 2

noun

grō-ˈtesk 

as in monster

a strange or horrible and often frightening creature

a gallery of grotesques from some horror movie

Synonyms & Similar Words

• monster
• grotesquerie
• grotesquery
• demon
• ogre
• monstrosity
• Frankenstein
• terror
• ogress
• fright
• horror
• bogy
• devil
• bogie
• abomination
• incubus
• abnormality
• daemon
• bogeyman
• bugaboo
• bugbear
• banshee
• imp
• mutant
• bogey
• bête noire
• mutation
• anathema
• bogyman
• freak
• fiend

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

Examples of grotesque in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Kelce’s role in the murder mystery series is being kept a secret, but Nash-Betts stars as Detective Lois Tryon, who investigates a series of grotesque murders — as the title of the show suggests — with the help of a nun, who’s also a journalist, named Sister Megan (Diamond). —Jordan Moreau, Variety, 4 Sep. 2024

The experiments themselves, however grotesque, were legal, but the level of care for the monkeys and the sanitary conditions at the lab appeared to fall short of Maryland’s animal welfare laws. —Jan Dutkiewicz, Vox, 8 Aug. 2024

Noun

The young lovers are always a difficult proposition in a musical that gives you such a bounty of grotesques, and here the two of them get lost among them. —Vulture, 26 Mar. 2023

Sweeping net-benefit claims are grotesque given these realities, yet the dutiful parroting of them is longstanding. —Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes, 2 Jan. 2023

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!