1
as in demons
a strange or horrible and often frightening creature
both children insisted that their parents check under the bed for monsters every night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in anomalies
a person, thing, or event that is far from normal
the gardener destroyed all of the monsters that mutated from his tomato plants
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in villains
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
the guards at the concentration camps were monsters who enjoyed seeing their victims suffer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in giants
something large of its kind
a monster of a sandwich that could easily feed two hearty eaters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of monsters
Policy favored the monsters who plot in the background, more Kissinger than Kennedy.
—
Eli Durst, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
The titular monsters in this anthology series tend to do well at the Emmys (Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer and Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez were both nominated).
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 May 2026
Yet lilac bushes can be monsters.
—Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2026
Imagine if David Rose and Patrick Brewer went gallivanting off on a cozy fantasy adventure, only to discover a shape-shifting girl and humans who are the real monsters.
—Literary Hub, 1 May 2026
The future is unknowable, and probably full of monsters.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 1 May 2026
Rodighiero and her team already have their suspicions about how the red and blue monsters can coexist in the early universe—perhaps the blue galaxies are in fact born from the red ones as the dust disperses.
—Jenna Ahart, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026
McCarthy’s script pairs supernatural monsters with human ones.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Krasinski and Blunt costarred 2018's A Quiet Place as a couple and their children (portrayed by Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe and Cade Woodward) hiding out in a rural community some time after the movie's alien monsters arrived on Earth and killed much of the human population.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 29 Apr. 2026
Eli Durst, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
The titular monsters in this anthology series tend to do well at the Emmys (Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer and Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez were both nominated).
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 May 2026
Yet lilac bushes can be monsters.
—Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2026
Imagine if David Rose and Patrick Brewer went gallivanting off on a cozy fantasy adventure, only to discover a shape-shifting girl and humans who are the real monsters.
—Literary Hub, 1 May 2026
The future is unknowable, and probably full of monsters.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 1 May 2026
Rodighiero and her team already have their suspicions about how the red and blue monsters can coexist in the early universe—perhaps the blue galaxies are in fact born from the red ones as the dust disperses.
—Jenna Ahart, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026
McCarthy’s script pairs supernatural monsters with human ones.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Krasinski and Blunt costarred 2018's A Quiet Place as a couple and their children (portrayed by Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe and Cade Woodward) hiding out in a rural community some time after the movie's alien monsters arrived on Earth and killed much of the human population.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 29 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monsters
Noun
-
So, instead of looking to exercise some demons from their recent past, the Avs will have the opportunity to get payback for ones from further back in the club’s history.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
2 May 2026
-
In Times of Dragons [Universal/Fontana] Dealing with demons is nothing new for Tori Amos, but on her 18th studio album, there’s little that’s figurative about the struggle between human good and Trumpian evil.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
The massive rocket has encountered a number of anomalies and failures since its debut, including fiery explosions both on the test stand and mid-flight that have attracted plenty of headlines.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
1 May 2026
-
On Friday, unknown attackers exploited the vulnerability to push a new version of element-data, a command-line interface that helps users monitor performance and anomalies in machine-learning systems.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The ones to watch out for are the ones who should be villains that aren’t.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
-
The iconic heroes and villains will join familiar faces already found throughout the outpost, including Ahsoka Tano, the Mandalorian, Grogu, R2-D2, Rey and more.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Meanwhile, the global memory crisis has worsened, forcing tech giants to pay up for the capacity needed to satisfy their data center ambitions.—
Jordan Novet,Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Dubbed the Flannel and the Fury, the tour brings together the alt-rock giants for the first time, with dates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other cities.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In recent weeks, social media users, especially on X, have been noticing increasing references to goblins, along with other fantasy creatures such as gremlins, ogres and trolls in ChatGPT’s answers to user queries.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Shrek and Fiona are now both full-time ogres, but Fiona’s parents (John Cleese and Julie Andrews) aren’t too thrilled, as a particularly tense family dinner scene makes clear.—
Skyler Trepel September 1,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In one case, while redesigning a ribosomal protein called RpsJ, the AI remodeled an alpha helix—a structural element bridging different parts of the ribosome—and introduced eight new nearby mutations to compensate for the substitution of just two isoleucines.—
Jacek Krywko,
Scientific American,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The cells were grown 400 generations and typically picked up 20–30 mutations, but none of those restored an isoleucine to any of the ribosomal proteins.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That’s happened in several Mid Atlantic rivers, but in the absence of larger brutes like blues and flathead, channels will thrive and can break the 15-pound mark.—
Joe Cermele,
Outdoor Life,
9 Apr. 2026
-
In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-skinned developing world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
State regulators have begun allowing the use of pop-up, or ropeless, fishing gear to help extend the season while reducing risks to whales.—
Da Lin,
CBS News,
3 May 2026
-
Thousands of whales strand every year, and even more die out of sight, mostly from the consequences of human activities.—
Jessica Camille Aguirre,
New Yorker,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Monsters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monsters. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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