monstrous

1 of 2

adjective

mon·strous ˈmän(t)-strəs

Synonyms of monstrous next

: having extraordinary often overwhelming size : gigantic

stuffing a monstrous sandwich down his throat—

Mike Flaherty

a monstrous skyscraper

: extraordinarily ugly or vicious : horrible

a monstrous crime

monstrous mayhem

: shockingly wrong or ridiculous

the legend assumed monstrous proportions—

Louis Untermeyer

a monstrous miscalculation

: deviating greatly from the natural form or character : abnormal

a monstrous melon

: very great

—used as an intensive

a monstrous hammering on his door—

G. D. Brown

a monstrous hangover

: having the qualities or appearance of a monster

came face to face with a monstrous creature—

Lester David

obsolete : teeming with monsters

obsolete : strange, unnatural

monstrously adverb

monstrousness noun

monstrous

2 of 2

adverb

chiefly dialectal

: very, extremely

a monstrous long raft—

Mark Twain

Choose the Right Synonym for monstrous

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

Examples of monstrous in a Sentence

Adjective It was monstrous of him to keep the truth from them all those years. a monstrous melon that was clearly not fit to eat Adverb a monstrous pretty gal, she was

Recent Examples on the Web

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.

Adjective

Gila Monster The gila monster does look, indeed, monstrous. —

Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024 The Hangman was the illusion of a monster, created by a monster to absorb the fallout of his monstrous deeds. —

Andy Andersen, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2024 An unusual picture of the banality of abusive behaviour challenging ideas of rapists as rare and slightly monstrous exceptions. —

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024 Stephen In case Stephen’s bone-crushing heel-turn last week wasn’t clear enough, his monstrous behavior continues in Episode 6. —

Ben Travers, IndieWire, 1 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for monstrous