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monstrous

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adverb

chiefly dialect

Synonym Chooser

How is the word monstrous different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of monstrous are prodigious, stupendous, and tremendous. While all these words 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

In what contexts can prodigious take the place of monstrous?

In some situations, the words prodigious and monstrous are roughly equivalent. However, 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

Where would stupendous be a reasonable alternative to monstrous?

Although the words stupendous and monstrous have much in common, stupendous implies a power to stun or astound, usually because of size, numbers, complexity, or greatness beyond description.

a stupendous volcanic eruption

When is it sensible to use tremendous instead of monstrous?

The words tremendous and monstrous are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, tremendous may imply a power to terrify or inspire awe.

the tremendous roar of the cataract

Examples of monstrous in a Sentence

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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Standing With Chappell Tesfaye clearly finds fame monstrous. Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2024 If children were deliberately targeted, that is absolutely monstrous and indisputably a war crime. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024 Soto and Stanton have had monstrous postseasons, combining for eight home runs and 19 RBIs. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2024 Low-cost airline Play is helping travelers save on a trip to Europe with a monstrous Halloween sale that has flights starting at less than $100. Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 24 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for monstrous 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monstrous
Adjective
  • Researchers said the negative impact of this phenomenon can lead to a distorted view of what's normal.
    Matthew Dolan, Detroit Free Press, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Hassan’s video came as a response to the distorted depiction of the neighbourhood in the 2024 Netflix series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar by the Indian filmmaker, Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
    Sonya Rehman, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • One popular, gruesome theory has it that a truck ran her over and then sped away, but what happened for sure, no one can tell.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Before his gruesome leg injury, the 24-year-old pass-rusher was on pace to secure an NFL Defensive Player of the Year trophy.
    Jesse Reed, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • In Antarctica, sea ice surrounding the continent also buttresses gigantic ice sheets, slowing the flow of glacial ice into the ocean.
    Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 8 Nov. 2024
  • Invest in community colleges, where a gigantic proportion of American students are but where a lack of resources often thwarts their ambitions.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Watch on Hulu Queenie Queenie Jenkins (Dionne Brown) is a Jamaican-British twentysomething whose world is thrown into an upheaval following an ugly breakup with her boyfriend.
    Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 5 Nov. 2024
  • All those who downplay General John Kelly’s revelations and even attack Trump’s former chief of staff for noting the ex-president’s fascist beliefs are also, in their way, bowing to the ugliest currents in our political culture.
    DP Opinion, The Denver Post, 1 Nov. 2024
Adverb
  • At first, the girls are only in danger of being forced to listen to one man’s extremely pretentious opinions about religion, philosophy, culture, and yes, pop music, which is terrifying in itself.
    Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 7 Nov. 2024
  • Incumbent Carmen Montano and Councilmember Hon Lien are locked in an extremely close mayoral race in Milpitas.
    Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Goldberg's words come over a year after The View began an unrelenting battle with gaseous entities, following a horrific water spillage (and mysterious fart noise of unknown origin) that plagued the Hot Topics table in January 2023.
    EW.com, EW.com, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Travis and Jason are clearly very close with one another, and the fan that hurled such a horrific thing led to Jason reacting in a very angry manner.
    James Brizuela, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • The details of the deal aren’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things for the franchise, but Moody inked a sweet contract and can play himself into even more money.
    Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
  • Here's a huge price drop on a very capable convertible Chromebook.
    K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • The Menendez trials — the first of the two ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury — became such a sensation in part because of the hideous nature of the crime, but also because of who Lyle and Erik were.
    Jen Chaney, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2024
  • Is this just how the game unfolds each time, part of some hideous narrative doomed to repeat itself?
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near monstrous

Cite this Entry

“Monstrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monstrous. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.

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