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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
There have, of course, been an abundance of folks who’ve shuffled off this mortal coil within the Canadian filmmaker’s nearly six decades’ worth of movies, often in the most baroque, grotesque manner possible. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Apr. 2025 The offending machine is actually the Great AL Generator, a grotesque machine/human hybrid built around the forementioned Alan Daniel Budd. Richard Edwards, Space.com, 13 Apr. 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
  • Fans were loud in their disappointment of the concluding storyline, with clamours for a further season to tie up loose ends, and UK press has previously indicated a seventh season is secretly in the works.
    Caroline Frost, Deadline, 3 May 2025
  • Their throats may have been boisterous, singing loud and long, but their eyes were shot with worry.
    Nick Miller, New York Times, 3 May 2025
Adjective
  • The series between the Warriors and the Rockets was slow, low scoring, and ugly—which is exactly how the younger, less experienced Rockets wanted it.
    Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 11 May 2025
  • This wasn’t the first time Green was subjected to ugly behavior from opposing fans.
    Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 10 May 2025
Noun
  • Remmick is a monster, but his homeland was colonized by some of the same rapacious forces that brought the twins’ ancestors to America.
    Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 2 May 2025
  • Before this year, Rantanen was a playoff monster, putting up 101 points (34-67) in 81 career playoff games.
    Pierre LeBrun, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • This garment gets exposed to harsher conditions than most clothing.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 11 May 2025
  • More precipitation in these locations could make up for the harsh cold season.
    Jordan-Marie Smith, NPR, 11 May 2025
Adjective
  • Within the span of a few days, an innocuous speck can turn a loaf of bread from prime sandwich material into a hideous mass of blue-green fuzz—an appetite-killing sight if ever there was one.
    Caroline Tien, SELF, 1 May 2025
  • The Imperial City Sewers you’re meant to traverse while learning the basics of the game look hideous and vile.
    Jamal Michel, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • Severance is really letting its body-horror freak flag fly this season, and the grotesquerie of its obsession with how bodies can be manipulated, against our will or without our knowledge, includes Gemma but isn’t limited to her.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • For young children explicit content can be quite upsetting, shocking, and jarring.
    Michaeleen Doucleff, NPR, 30 Apr. 2025
  • The most jarring and overlooked illustration of the CCP's pervasive influence and investment is mere miles off the southeast coast of the U.S. in the Caribbean islands.
    Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 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 18 May. 2025.

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