monstrous

monstrous
I. adjective Date: 15th century 1. obsolete strange, unnatural 2. having extraordinary often overwhelming size ; gigantic 3. a. having the qualities or appearance of a monster b. obsolete teeming with monsters 4. a. extraordinarily ugly or vicious ; horrible b. shockingly wrong or ridiculous 5. deviating greatly from the natural form or character ; abnormal 6. very great — used as an intensive • monstrously adverbmonstrousness noun Synonyms: monstrous, prodigious, tremendous, stupendous mean extremely impressive. monstrous implies a departure from the normal (as in size, form, or character) and often carries suggestions of deformity, ugliness, or fabulousness <
the monstrous waste of the project
>
. prodigious suggests a marvelousness exceeding belief, usually in something felt as going far beyond a previous maximum (as of goodness, greatness, intensity, or size) <
made a prodigious effort and rolled the stone aside
>
. tremendous may imply a power to terrify or inspire awe <
the tremendous roar of the cataract
>
. stupendous implies a power to stun or astound, usually because of size, numbers, complexity, or greatness beyond description <
a stupendous volcanic eruption
>
. II. adverb Date: 1590 chiefly dialect very, extremely <
a monstrous long raft — Mark Twain
>

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Monstrous — may refer to: Monstrous carbuncle, a term used to describe modernist architecture which is unsympathetic to its surroundings Monstrous humanoid, a creature type in the Dungeons Dragons fantasy role playing game Monstrous moonshine, a mathematical …   Wikipedia

  • Monstrous — Mon strous, a. [OE. monstruous, F. monstrueux, fr. L. monstruosus, fr. monstrum. See {Monster}.] 1. Marvelous; strange. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. Having the qualities of a monster; deviating greatly from the natural form or character; abnormal; as …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • monstrous — 1 Monstrous, prodigious, tremendous, stupendous, monumental are comparable especially in their extended more or less hyperbolical senses in which they mean astonishingly impressive. Monstrous commonly applies to something abnormal, usually in… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Monstrous — Mon strous, adv. Exceedingly; very; very much. A monstrous thick oil on the top. Bacon. [1913 Webster] And will be monstrous witty on the poor. Dryden. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • monstrous — (adj.) mid 15c., unnatural, deviating from the natural order, hideous, from M.Fr. monstrueux, from L. monstruosus strange, unnatural, monstrous, from monstrum (see MONSTER (Cf. monster)). Meaning enormous is from c.1500; that of outrageously… …   Etymology dictionary

  • monstrous — [adj1] unnatural, shocking aberrant, abnormal, atrocious, cruel, desperate, devilish, diabolical, disgraceful, dreadful, egregious, evil, fiendish, flagitious, foul, freakish, frightful, grotesque, gruesome, heinous, hellish, hideous, horrendous …   New thesaurus

  • monstrous — index arrant (onerous), bad (offensive), delinquent (guilty of a misdeed), diabolic, flagrant, gross ( …   Law dictionary

  • monstrous — ► ADJECTIVE 1) very large and ugly or frightening. 2) outrageously evil or wrong. DERIVATIVES monstrously adverb monstrousness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • monstrous — [män′strəs] adj. [LME < OFr monstreux < L monstrosus < monstrum: see MONSTER] 1. abnormally or prodigiously large; huge; enormous 2. very unnatural or abnormal in shape, type, or character 3. having the character or appearance of a… …   English World dictionary

  • monstrous — adj. 1) monstrous to + inf. (it is monstrous to preach hatred) 2) monstrous that + clause (it s monstrous that innocent children throughout the world go hungry) * * * [ mɒnstrəs] monstrous to + inf. (it is monstrous to preach hatred) monstrous… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • monstrous — [[t]mɒ̱nstrəs[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n If you describe a situation or event as monstrous, you mean that it is extremely shocking or unfair. She endured the monstrous behaviour for years... I just hope the people who committed this monstrous… …   English dictionary

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