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monstrosity

monstrosity

8 8.6
A person or animal with a very unusual body shape that frightens others
  • noun
  • /mɒnˈstrɒsɪti/
  • Offensive
translation icon : monstruo (insulto)
  • The old factory was home to a monstrosity that haunted the town's nightmares for generations.

And the monstrosity leapt into the sky, punishing the air with rent wings.

Examples

  • Adam scowled at the shaggy monstrosity who kept dogging him at the worst possible times.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Bethesda, a bloated monstrosity of a woman, had no business in the water.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • We told you we had living, breathing, monstrosities.

  • The bulldog monstrosities that we now see are the creation of the show ring.

    Blog text (12)
  • The ship tilted, and two of the smaller monstrosities vaulted out of the hold.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Dozens of monstrosities lay below, their bodies intertwined as they writhed frantically.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Somehow, they seemed to be only trees now, not the hunkering, malformed monstrosities that hovered over the waterways.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Robyn stood at the stern, watching the two vessels and their complements of screaming, scaled monstrosities.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The children screamed in horror when they saw the monstrosity emerging from the shadows.

  • As the researchers studied the monstrosity, they were shocked by its bizarre shape and unsettling features.

Synonyms

monster
vsmonstrosity
  • Offensive
395 2.5

A very large person or animal with a strange, frightening body

focuses on extreme deformity that causes shock or horror
grotesquerie
vsmonstrosity
1 9.9

A strange and ugly quality in people and things that shocks and interests

emphasizes actual physical deformity that provokes shock rather than oddness

Antonyms

1.0

Usual or expected in most situations

847 1.0

A combination of qualities like shape and color that pleases the eye

How Abnormal

monstrosity
  • Offensive
8 8.6
oddity
15 5.3
eccentric
1 7.0

Surface Forms

monstrosity singular
monstrosities plural

Morphology

monstrosity = monstrous (semi-transparent) = monstrous + ity

Formed from 'monstrous' + '-ity' to refer to a person or thing characterized by monstrous features; the orthographic shift makes it slightly non-transparent.

Etymology

The word monstrosity comes from the Latin monstrum, which meant a strange or 'unnatural' thing seen as a 'warning' and is the same root as monster. That's why a monstrosity can mean a person or animal with an unusual or deformed shape that makes people feel shocked or afraid.