monstrosity

noun
mon·​stros·​i·​ty | \ män-ˈsträ-sə-tē How to pronounce monstrosity (audio) \
plural monstrosities

Definition of monstrosity

1a : a malformation of a plant or animal
b : something deviating from the normal : freak
2 : the quality or state of being monstrous the monstrosity of the tsunami's devastation
3a : an object of great and often frightening size, force, or complexity this monstrosity, the atomic bomb
b : an excessively bad or shocking example The new mall is an architectural monstrosity.

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Synonyms & Antonyms for monstrosity

Synonyms

abnormality, anomaly, freak, monster

Antonyms

average, norm, normal, par, standard

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Examples of monstrosity in a Sentence

Did you see the new mall? It's a monstrosity. any monstrosities born to the farm animals were sent to the agricultural college for study

Recent Examples on the Web

RB - Kyle Walker: A year after his part in this monstrosity, Walker earned a £50m move to Manchester City so, clearly, not the biggest casualty going. SI.com, "England 1-2 Iceland: Looking at Where Every Player from Both XIs of That Historic Game Is Now," 27 June 2019 Tony Stark’s goatee monstrosity helps get across his haughtiness, as Walker explains, as no regular civilian would have the courage to shape their scruff into something so physically unappealing. Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "The enduring legacy and fantasy of Captain America’s beard, explained," 18 June 2019 Not something awful happening to their child — that’s a whole other nightmare — but the kid perpetrating some monstrosity on society. Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, "In ‘Something Clean,’ parents try to atone for their son’s sex crime," 24 June 2019 The charming monstrosity abhors Bonnie’s love, though, and would rather return to the warm embrace of nonexistence. Darren Franich, EW.com, "Toy Story 4 goes beyond endings, with mixed results: EW review," 13 June 2019 On each episode, longtime friends Jamie Morton, James Cooper, and Alice Levine read aloud one chapter of Morton's father's erotic novel, Belinda Blinked, which is at once a creative monstrosity and a work of art. Jenny Hollander, Marie Claire, "'My Dad Wrote a Porno' Has Arrived In America," 14 May 2019 But while building up the film’s massive, mobile monstrosities was the most obvious challenge, some of the more nuanced work was even more intriguing. Bryan Bishop, The Verge, "How Weta Digital created the steampunk world of Mortal Engines," 21 Dec. 2018 Its chief attraction is the chance to see, in person, this last remnant of the Whitechapel monstrosity. Nicola Twilley, New York Times, "Letter of Recommendation: Fatbergs," 27 Mar. 2018 The West Virginian wasteland is full of familiar creatures like deathclaws, feral ghouls, and other mutated monstrosities. Sarah Leboeuf, Ars Technica, "Two weeks in, Fallout 76 is a lonely, glitchy, flawed mess," 28 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'monstrosity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of monstrosity

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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More Definitions for monstrosity

monstrosity

noun

English Language Learners Definition of monstrosity

: something (such as a building) that is very large and ugly

monstrosity

noun
mon·​stros·​i·​ty | \ män-ˈsträ-sə-tē How to pronounce monstrosity (audio) \
plural monstrosities

Kids Definition of monstrosity

: something that is large and ugly

monstrosity

noun
mon·​stros·​i·​ty | \ män-ˈsträs-ət-ē How to pronounce monstrosity (audio) \
plural monstrosities

Medical Definition of monstrosity

1 : a malformation of a plant or animal
2 : the quality or state of deviating greatly from the natural form or character

Other Words from monstrosity

monstrous \ ˈmän(t)-​strəs How to pronounce monstrous (audio) \ adjective

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