grotesque

[ groh-tesk ]

adjective

1. odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre.

   Synonyms: wild, antic, weird, deformed, distorted

2. fantastic in the shaping and combination of forms, as in decorative work combining incongruous human and animal figures with scrolls, foliage, etc.

noun

1. any grotesque object, design, person, or thing.

grotesque

/ ɡrəʊˈtɛsk /

adjective

1. strangely or fantastically distorted; bizarre

   a grotesque reflection in the mirror

2. of or characteristic of the grotesque in art
3. absurdly incongruous; in a ludicrous context

   a grotesque turn of phrase

noun

1. a 16th-century decorative style in which parts of human, animal, and plant forms are distorted and mixed
2. a decorative device, as in painting or sculpture, in this style
3. printing the family of 19th-century sans serif display types
4. any grotesque person or thing

Derived Forms

• groˈtesquely, adverb
• groˈtesqueness, noun

Other Words From

• gro·tesquely adverb
• gro·tesqueness noun
• ungro·tesque adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of grotesque¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from French, from Italian grottesca (from pittura grottesca, opera grottesca “grotesque painting, decoration” such as was apparently found in excavated buildings), the feminine of grottesco “grotesque, uncouth,” derivative of grotta “cave.” See grotto, -esque

Word History and Origins

Origin of grotesque¹

C16: from French, from Old Italian ( pittura ) grottesca cave painting, from grottesco of a cave, from grotta cave; see grotto

Synonym Study

See bizarre.

Example Sentences

She perused grotesque album covers while I investigated the indie art studios upstairs.

From Los Angeles Times

The Israeli armed forces have inflicted untold misery on the civilian population of Gaza in retaliation for the grotesque Hamas attacks of Oct.

From Los Angeles Times

It underscores the shallowness of his distinction between legal and illegal arrivals, his flirtation with Great Replacement Theory, and his grotesque fixation on genetics.

From Slate

This would not be possible if his audience did not already thirst for the spectacle of Trump’s cruelty — a grotesque panorama of cities overrun by thieves, murderers and criminally insane, sapping the marrow of the law that once made America safe for white collar felons like Trump.

From Salon

“Today's 13- and 14-year-olds who commit these grotesque offences were three or four years old 10 years ago,” conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a televised debate of party leaders on public TV last weekend.

From BBC

Related Words

• absurd
• bizarre
• eerie
• fanciful
• fantastic
• ludicrous
• monstrous
• odd
• outlandish
• preposterous
• ridiculous
• strange
• surrealistic
• whimsical