Grand Guignol

noun

Grand Gui·​gnol ˌgräⁿ-gēn-ˈyȯl How to pronounce Grand Guignol (audio)
-ˈyōl
: dramatic entertainment featuring the gruesome or horrible
Grand Guignol adjective

Examples of Grand Guignol in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The Grand Guignol of horror, the slasher slowly gave rise in the 1960s before exploding in the late ’70s following the massive success of John Carpenter’s Halloween. Meagan Navarro, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024 Their performances in this gonzo sci-fi fest verge on camp, as does the movie's Grand Guignol sense of violence. Katie Rife, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024 For so long, the R.N. had been, as in a favorite Grand Guignol performance at the Luxembourg Gardens, the grand méchant loup who terrorized the trois petits cochons. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 9 July 2024 And that goes for his already-historic, Grand Guignol kill with a view, too. A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 31 May 2024 The stakes just keep getting higher in this Grand Guignol of bloodthirsty excess, as bereaved government agent Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun) descends into shocking depravity in his pursuit of serial killer Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik). EW.com, 2 June 2024 The truth gets revealed, and Roth’s Grand Guignol set-pieces work as allegories for today’s paranoid sense of a country founded by pilgrims that now either can’t — or won’t — save itself. Armond White, National Review, 29 Nov. 2023 There have been brief bursts of Grand Guignol in England and elsewhere through the years, but not too many in the U.S. — though this is not the first time the Yale Cabaret has ventured into the form. Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 Jan. 2023 The sheer irreverence of everything here, starting with a Grand Guignol shower of guts and ending on one hell of an existential question mark, is more than enough to cause serious giggling fits. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Le Grand Guignol, small theater in Montmartre, Paris, that specialized in such performances

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Grand Guignol was in 1905

Dictionary Entries Near Grand Guignol

Cite this Entry

“Grand Guignol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Grand%20Guignol. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on Grand Guignol

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!