as in monsters
a strange or horrible and often frightening creature
a gallery of grotesques from some horror movie
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Recent Examples of grotesques
The grotesques were decorative stone faces around the castle.
—
Adam Fox, CBS News, 14 May 2026
The script, by Ed Solomon, treats the Sklar siblings as cardboard grotesques—heartless, talentless, united in their loathing of a father who loathes them right back.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026
Indeed, compared with the realistically creased faces and hangdog stares of the Cubs, the Boston fans behind them are closer to grotesques, an inhuman crush of caricatures.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
As the agent rambles, the cameras onstage freeze Tullock’s face at unflattering moments, and the screens behind her display a series of grotesques.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Adam Fox, CBS News, 14 May 2026
The script, by Ed Solomon, treats the Sklar siblings as cardboard grotesques—heartless, talentless, united in their loathing of a father who loathes them right back.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026
Indeed, compared with the realistically creased faces and hangdog stares of the Cubs, the Boston fans behind them are closer to grotesques, an inhuman crush of caricatures.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
As the agent rambles, the cameras onstage freeze Tullock’s face at unflattering moments, and the screens behind her display a series of grotesques.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grotesques
Noun
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Democrats never dare to criticize any of these Third World monsters, only the cops trying to protect American taxpayers from their cruel depredations.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
7 June 2026
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This is because the main enemies in this game look to be large chitinous alien monsters, which your titular Gundam can slice into tiny pieces.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Noun
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As in Pillion and elsewhere, Melling imbues a premise’s potential grotesqueries with real and specific feelings.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2026
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The abundance of these grotesqueries was almost stranger than their existence.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
14 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Together, the two men battle the forces of evil, each other, and their own demons on the path to salvation.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
11 June 2026
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Still, 51-year-old Rhys didn’t take Nile’s demons or Tom’s supernatural burden home.—
Emma Fraser,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grotesques.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grotesques. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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