Mildred Moyer
Search results
Learn the origin, synonyms, and usage of the word grotesque, which can be a noun or an adjective. A grotesque is a style of art with fantastic or bizarre forms, or something that is unnatural or ugly.
Grotesque means strange and unpleasant, especially in a silly or slightly frightening way, or wrong or unfair to a shocking degree. It can also be a noun for a painting or other artistic work with an image of a person that is ugly or unpleasant as its subject.
Since at least the 18th century (in French and German, as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus is often used to describe weird shapes and distorted forms such as Halloween masks.
odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre. Synonyms: wild, antic, weird, deformed, distorted. fantastic in the shaping and combination of forms, as in decorative work combining incongruous human and animal figures with scrolls, foliage, etc.
Use grotesque to describe things that are very strange and ugly in an unnatural way. If something "grosses you out," you can safely refer to it as grotesque. Grotesque also refers to a style of art that uses odd and fanciful combinations of natural, human, and animal forms.
Grotesque means strange and unpleasant, especially in a silly or slightly frightening way, or wrong or unfair to a shocking degree. Learn more about the word, its usage and related terms with Cambridge Dictionary.
Learn the meaning of grotesque as an adjective, noun, and style of art. Find out how to use grotesque in a sentence and see synonyms and related words.
