monstrosity

noun

mon·​stros·​i·​ty män-ˈsträ-sə-tē 

plural monstrosities

1

a

: a malformation of a plant or animal

b

: something deviating from the normal : freak

2

: the quality or state of being monstrous

the monstrosity of the tsunami's devastation

3

a

: an object of great and often frightening size, force, or complexity

this monstrosity, the atomic bomb

b

: an excessively bad or shocking example

The new mall is an architectural monstrosity.

Synonyms

• abnormality
• anomaly
• freak
• monster

Examples of monstrosity in a Sentence

Did you see the new mall? It's a monstrosity.

any monstrosities born to the farm animals were sent to the agricultural college for study

Recent Examples on the Web

See Demi Moore like never before in the bloody, unsettling preview for twisted body horror movie The Substance Without giving away too much, the film's third act descends into a cacophony of chaos, monstrosity, and blood. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 7 Sep. 2024

Putin’s Monster Stalin’s NKVD—the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs—was a true monstrosity. —Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 27 July 2022

If True Detective: Night Country has unleashed a hunger for other tales of terror at the poles, not unlike an eldritch alien monstrosity emerging after a millenia frozen in the ice, here are a dozen movies or TV shows that will keep you scared the whole endless night. —James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2024

The show’s third season focuses on the characters embracing their monstrosity head-on. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 11 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

monstrosity

noun

mon·​stros·​i·​ty män-ˈsträs-ət-ē 

plural monstrosities

1

: the condition of being monstrous

2

: something monstrous : monster