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noun

Synonym Chooser

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

The words bizarre and fantastic are common synonyms of grotesque. While all three words mean "conceived, made, or carried out without adherence to truth or reality," grotesque may apply to what is conventionally ugly but artistically effective or it may connote ludicrous awkwardness or incongruity often with sinister or tragic overtones.

grotesque statues on the cathedral
though grieving, she made a grotesque attempt at a smile

When could bizarre be used to replace grotesque?

In some situations, the words bizarre and grotesque are roughly equivalent. However, bizarre applies to the sensationally strange and implies violence of contrast or incongruity of combination.

a bizarre medieval castle in the heart of a modern city

When would fantastic be a good substitute for grotesque?

The words fantastic and grotesque are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, fantastic may connote extravagance in conception or ingenuity of decorative invention.

dreamed up fantastic rumors

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grotesque
Adjective
Newsom has ordered an investigation, but this looks like grotesque mismanagement. The Editors, National Review, 13 Jan. 2025 Where the r-slur is concerned, one recalls Trump’s grotesque imitation in 2015 of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has arthrogryposis, a congenital joint condition. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 7 Jan. 2025
Noun
Washington National Cathedral, a famous example of Neo-Gothic architecture, is known for its collection of more than a hundred gargoyles and grotesques, including funny ones. Kate McGregor, House Beautiful, 14 July 2023 An element of the grotesque inflects Stettheimer’s version of the American rococo, and one wonders whether this is part of its Americanness, connecting her to John Currin as much as to the nineteenth-century circus poster. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022 See all Example Sentences for grotesque 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grotesque
Adjective
  • Cubs fans greeted Sosa with cheers and only a smattering of boos, which were drown out by the loud applause.
    Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025
  • The blizzard gave them some issues, but the over 1,000 staff members are more than ready to welcome the loudest fans in the NFL, plus some Texans fans hoping to see an upset.
    Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • This underscores an ugly truth as to why California’s housing is grossly and unnecessarily expensive, and in short supply.
    Steve Forbes, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
  • An ugly opt in: If there is no trade by Feb. 6, Butler then regains a degree of leverage with the right to invoke his $52.4 million player option next season.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Are we meant to sympathize with this creature as people scream in terror and call it a monster and attack it and scream for it to be shot?
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Set in a new location with new monsters, Wilds introduces a new type of mount, new monsters, an improved wound system, focus mode, and a new tool called the hook slinger.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • So, if the Dodgers transition from the team that was unable to win it in a 162-game regular season to a dynasty similar to the Yankees dynasty, then the complaints of harsher regulations against the Dodgers may be warranted.
    Tyler Small, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
  • Avoid harsh or irritating products such as hydroxy acids (AHAs and BHAs) or retinoids.
    Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • And in reading on, it will be said up front that government spending is the most hideous, economy-sapping tax of all.
    John Tamny, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Also, there may be three outfits, but that’s less exciting when all three of them are hideous.
    Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • And his finest work, the 1990 television soap opera Twin Peaks, could also be considered a sensitive, comedic Rorschach test, given its all-American grotesqueries — the definition of his artistic expression.
    Armond White, National Review, 17 Jan. 2025
  • Strauss’s roguish grotesqueries were beautifully played, with warm coziness to the thicket of intertwining lines in the winds.
    Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The about-face was a long time coming, but still felt jarring thanks to the rushed nature of the show in its final two seasons.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
  • The bottom foam layer absorbs the impact energy of the sole hitting hard, jarring terrain, while the upper layer soaks up energy from each step to repurpose into the liftoff of the next step.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Smears on non-sensor areas of the tiara are like bug debris on your hood, aesthetically unpleasing but not harmful.
    Eric Tegler, Popular Mechanics, 1 Oct. 2019
  • His side's inability to finish off the game against Burnley on the other hand was very unpleasing.
    SI.com, SI.com, 1 Feb. 2018

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Cite this Entry

“Grotesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grotesque. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

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