Grotesque
adjective
Something or someone that looks extremely strange or ugly in a way that is not normal or natural.
The new building is a grotesque addition to the city.
Often appears as...
- grotesque appearance
- grotesque figure
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
A style of decorative art or architecture that is distorted or exaggerated in a strange or bizarre way.
The cathedral is done in a grotesque style with intricate carvings and patterns.
Often appears as...
- grotesque style
- grotesque architecture
Usage tips
Neutral
Academic
adjective
Something or someone that looks extremely strange or ugly in a way that is not normal or natural.
The new building is a grotesque addition to the city.
Often appears as...
- grotesque appearance
- grotesque figure
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
A style of decorative art or architecture that is distorted or exaggerated in a strange or bizarre way.
The cathedral is done in a grotesque style with intricate carvings and patterns.
Often appears as...
- grotesque style
- grotesque architecture
Usage tips
Neutral
Academic
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Use 'grotesque' to express strong disapproval or to shock your audience.
His behavior at the party was grotesque.
Pro Tip 2/3Visual Impact
'Grotesque' often describes visual oddity that can provoke discomfort or aversion.
She wore a mask with a grotesque expression.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Response
The term may evoke fear, humor, or pity depending on context and tone.
The movie featured a grotesque alien that made us laugh.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Use 'grotesque' to express strong disapproval or to shock your audience.
His behavior at the party was grotesque.
Pro Tip 2/3Visual Impact
'Grotesque' often describes visual oddity that can provoke discomfort or aversion.
She wore a mask with a grotesque expression.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Response
The term may evoke fear, humor, or pity depending on context and tone.
The movie featured a grotesque alien that made us laugh.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Use 'grotesque' to express strong disapproval or to shock your audience.
His behavior at the party was grotesque.
Pro Tip 2/3Visual Impact
'Grotesque' often describes visual oddity that can provoke discomfort or aversion.
She wore a mask with a grotesque expression.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Response
The term may evoke fear, humor, or pity depending on context and tone.
The movie featured a grotesque alien that made us laugh.
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Video examples
Why should you read...
she redeems an insufferable grandmother for forgiving a hardened criminal, even as he closes in on her family. Though we might balk at the price the woman pays for this redemption, we’re forced to confront the nuance in moments we might otherwise consider purely violent or evil. O’Connor’s mastery of the grotesque
Video examples
The voices in my head PIPE...
mistrust and misunderstanding had been established, and this was a battle in which I felt powerless and incapable of establishing any kind of peace or reconciliation. Two years later, and the deterioration was dramatic. By now, I had the whole frenzied terrifying voices, grotesque visions,
Video examples
Militant atheism PIPE...
in other fields, such as history or philosophy, but I'd be surprised if they were different. So, we've reached a truly remarkable situation, a grotesque mismatch between the American intelligentsia and the American electorate. A philosophical opinion about the nature of the universe,
Video examples
Everything you need to...
about artificial intelligence. For Shelley, the terror was not supernatural, but born in a lab. In addition, gothic devices infuse the text. The gothic genre is characterized by unease, eerie settings, the grotesque,
Video examples
Let's talk about sex -...
And then you walk into your first class in middle school, and the bomb goes off. You are not just a body any more. Oh no, now you are grotesque. That's when the suffering really starts.
Video examples
Advocating for gender...
know it well I'm not proud of the fact that I know it well I too have participated in those grotesquely distorted male bastions it's the instinctive assumption of male
Video examples
Why I love a country...
I was a child, too young to understand the circumstances of my being there. Children are amazingly adaptable. What would be grotesquely abnormal became my normality
Video examples
Alex Smith: An NFL...
She helped me get to that point. I was ready. And when I finally did it, it looked way worse than I had expected. What I saw was not cool. It was grotesque.
Video examples
These Rare Giraffes Were...
killed a giraffe you know it was awful because of their size and their exquisite form they take a particularly grotesque appearance when they're lying
Video examples
Up Close to Elephant...
and it resonates around that grotesque nose the bigger the seat the deeper it's caught so by bellowing males can get the
Video examples
Why should you read...
she redeems an insufferable grandmother for forgiving a hardened criminal, even as he closes in on her family. Though we might balk at the price the woman pays for this redemption, we’re forced to confront the nuance in moments we might otherwise consider purely violent or evil. O’Connor’s mastery of the grotesque
Video examples
The voices in my head PIPE...
mistrust and misunderstanding had been established, and this was a battle in which I felt powerless and incapable of establishing any kind of peace or reconciliation. Two years later, and the deterioration was dramatic. By now, I had the whole frenzied terrifying voices, grotesque visions,
Video examples
Militant atheism PIPE...
in other fields, such as history or philosophy, but I'd be surprised if they were different. So, we've reached a truly remarkable situation, a grotesque mismatch between the American intelligentsia and the American electorate. A philosophical opinion about the nature of the universe,
Video examples
Everything you need to...
about artificial intelligence. For Shelley, the terror was not supernatural, but born in a lab. In addition, gothic devices infuse the text. The gothic genre is characterized by unease, eerie settings, the grotesque,
Video examples
Let's talk about sex -...
And then you walk into your first class in middle school, and the bomb goes off. You are not just a body any more. Oh no, now you are grotesque. That's when the suffering really starts.
Video examples
Advocating for gender...
know it well I'm not proud of the fact that I know it well I too have participated in those grotesquely distorted male bastions it's the instinctive assumption of male
Video examples
Why I love a country...
I was a child, too young to understand the circumstances of my being there. Children are amazingly adaptable. What would be grotesquely abnormal became my normality
Video examples
Alex Smith: An NFL...
She helped me get to that point. I was ready. And when I finally did it, it looked way worse than I had expected. What I saw was not cool. It was grotesque.
Video examples
These Rare Giraffes Were...
killed a giraffe you know it was awful because of their size and their exquisite form they take a particularly grotesque appearance when they're lying
Video examples
Up Close to Elephant...
and it resonates around that grotesque nose the bigger the seat the deeper it's caught so by bellowing males can get the
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Ann Coulter
American Journalist
Taxes are like abortion, and not just because both are grotesque procedures supported by Democrats. You're for them or against them. Taxes go up or down; government raises taxes or lowers them. But Democrats will not let the words 'abortion' or 'tax hikes' pass their lips.
Quote examples
Melissa Leo
American Actress
To be a comic, you must reveal yourself in your most grotesque nudity. And it's only then, when the truth gets told, when the audience recognizes it somewhere in themselves, that they get that great medicine of laughter.
Quote examples
Werner Herzog
German Director
Ambition is to be the fastest runner on this planet, to be the first on the South Pole, which is a grotesque perversion of ambition. It's an ego trip, and I'm not on an ego trip. I don't have ambitions - I have a vision.
Quote examples
Tom Stoppard
English Dramatist
All your life, you live so close to truth, it becomes a permanent blur in the corner of your eye. And when something nudges it into outline, it is like being ambushed by a grotesque.
Quote examples
Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel
German Poet
All men are somewhat ridiculous and grotesque, just because they are men; and in this respect artists might well be regarded as man multiplied by two. So it is, was, and shall be.
Quote examples
Corin Nemec
American Actor
What motivates me in art is the ugly and beautiful nature of the truth. It has to be truthful and honest, even if it is ugly and grotesque.
Quote examples
George A. Romero
American Director
The grotesque has never really affected or frightened me. I guess it's real-life stuff that frightens me much more.
Quote examples
Victor Hugo
French Author
As a means of contrast with the sublime, the grotesque is, in our view, the richest source that nature can offer.
Quote examples
H. L. Mencken
American Writer
Every man sees in his relatives, and especially in his cousins, a series of grotesque caricatures of himself.
Quote examples
Joni Mitchell
Canadian Musician
America is in a runaway-train position and dragging all the world with it. It's grotesquely mentally ill.
Quote examples
Ann Coulter
American Journalist
Taxes are like abortion, and not just because both are grotesque procedures supported by Democrats. You're for them or against them. Taxes go up or down; government raises taxes or lowers them. But Democrats will not let the words 'abortion' or 'tax hikes' pass their lips.
Quote examples
Melissa Leo
American Actress
To be a comic, you must reveal yourself in your most grotesque nudity. And it's only then, when the truth gets told, when the audience recognizes it somewhere in themselves, that they get that great medicine of laughter.
Quote examples
Werner Herzog
German Director
Ambition is to be the fastest runner on this planet, to be the first on the South Pole, which is a grotesque perversion of ambition. It's an ego trip, and I'm not on an ego trip. I don't have ambitions - I have a vision.
Quote examples
Tom Stoppard
English Dramatist
All your life, you live so close to truth, it becomes a permanent blur in the corner of your eye. And when something nudges it into outline, it is like being ambushed by a grotesque.
Quote examples
Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel
German Poet
All men are somewhat ridiculous and grotesque, just because they are men; and in this respect artists might well be regarded as man multiplied by two. So it is, was, and shall be.
Quote examples
Corin Nemec
American Actor
What motivates me in art is the ugly and beautiful nature of the truth. It has to be truthful and honest, even if it is ugly and grotesque.
Quote examples
George A. Romero
American Director
The grotesque has never really affected or frightened me. I guess it's real-life stuff that frightens me much more.
Quote examples
Victor Hugo
French Author
As a means of contrast with the sublime, the grotesque is, in our view, the richest source that nature can offer.
Quote examples
H. L. Mencken
American Writer
Every man sees in his relatives, and especially in his cousins, a series of grotesque caricatures of himself.
Quote examples
Joni Mitchell
Canadian Musician
America is in a runaway-train position and dragging all the world with it. It's grotesquely mentally ill.
Example 1 of 10
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