monster
UK /ˈmɒnstə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈmɑnstɚ/ noun, adjective, verb, proper noun
Forms monsters monstering monstered monstre
- noun A terrifying and dangerous creature, especially one of an imaginary or fictional kind.
- noun A cruel, heartless, or antisocial person, especially a criminal. “Get away from those children, you monster!”
- noun (figuratively, humorous) A badly behaved person, especially a child; a brat. “Sit still, you little monster!”
- noun (informal) A prodigy; someone very talented in a specific domain. “That dude playing guitar is a monster.”
- noun (informal) Something very or unusually large. “Have you seen those powerlifters on TV? They're monsters.”
- noun (archaic) A deformed animal or person (especially, a severely deformed one); in previous centuries often taken as an ill omen at the time of its birth. (Offensive when applied to humans in modern usage.) “The villagers were worried because the weather had been strange and several monsters had been born among the flocks and people.”
- noun (offensive) A disabled person, especially a physically disabled person.
- noun A bizarre or whimsical creature. “The children decided Grover was a cuddly monster.”
- adjective (informal) Very large; worthy of a monster. “He has a monster appetite.”
- adjective (informal) Great; very good; excellent.
- verb (transitive) To make into a monster; to categorise as a monster; to demonise.
- verb (intransitive) To behave as a monster to; to terrorise.
- verb (chiefly Australia) To harass.
- verb (UK, live action roleplaying games) To play (a series of) non-player characters as directed, without having the responsibility of organising the game itself; generally not limited to playing literal monsters or hostile combatants. “Are you monstering that event?”
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
beast monstrosity monstrous gigantic monsterize giant goliath behemoth colossus freak lusus naturae fiend devil demon ogre teras
Etymology
From Middle English monstre, from Old French monstre, mostre, moustre, from Latin mōnstrum. Displaced native Old English fīfel and Old English þyrs.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Something of unnatural size, shape, or quality; a prodigy; an enormity; a marvel.
- noun Specifically , an animal or plant departing greatly from the usual type, as by having too many limbs.
- adjective Monstrous in size. Pope.
- verb To make monstrous. [Obs.] Shak.
Etymology [OE. monstre, F. monstre, fr. L. monstrum, orig., a divine omen, indicating misfortune; akin of monstrare to show, point out, indicate, and monere to warn. See Monition, and cf. Demonstrate, Muster.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “monster”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details