Definition of Grotesque

1. Noun. Art characterized by an incongruous mixture of parts of humans and animals interwoven with plants.

Generic synonyms: Art, Fine Art

2. Adjective. Distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous. "Twisted into monstrous shapes"
Exact synonyms: Monstrous
Similar to: Ugly
Derivative terms: Grotesqueness, Monster, Monster, Monstrosity

3. Adjective. Ludicrously odd. "A grotesque reflection in the mirror"
Exact synonyms: Antic, Fantastic, Fantastical
Similar to: Strange, Unusual
Derivative terms: Antic, Grotesqueness

Definition of Grotesque

1. a. Like the figures found in ancient grottoes; grottolike; wildly or strangely formed; whimsical; extravagant; of irregular forms and proportions; fantastic; ludicrous; antic.

2. n. A whimsical figure, or scene, such as is found in old crypts and grottoes.

Definition of Grotesque

1. Adjective. distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous ¹

2. Adjective. disgusting or otherwise viscerally reviling. ¹

3. Adjective. (typography) sans serif. ¹

4. Noun. A style of ornamentation characterized by fanciful combinations of intertwined forms. ¹

5. Noun. Anything grotesque. ¹

6. Noun. (typography) A sans serif typeface. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Grotesque

1. [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Grotesque

grossite
grossly
grossness
grossnesses
grosso modo
grossular
grossularia
grossularite
grossularites
grossulars
grossulin
grosz
grosze
groszy
grot
grotesque (current term)
grotesquely
grotesqueness
grotesquenesses
grotesquerie
grotesqueries
grotesquery
grotesques
grots
grottier
grottiest
grotto
grottoed
grottoes
grottolike

Literary usage of Grotesque

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Stones of Venice by John Ruskin (1906)
"APPENDIX I.» grotesque RENAISSANCE. § 52. WHEN I spoke of the kinds of art which were produced for the recreation of the lower orders, I only spoke of forms ..."

2. Modern Painters by John Ruskin (1857)
"But, be this as it may, the discussion of the grotesque element belonged most properly ... The grotesque is in that chapter* divided principally into three ..."

3. A Musical Motley by Ernest Newman (1919)
"I am not sure that everyone will agree with him in linking the grotesque in ... That comes, I think, from regarding the grotesque too much from the point of ..."

4. The Bookman (1903)
"BARBARISM AND THE CHOLERA INVADING EL'ROI'E IN of the grotesque hunchback ... to day in new and ever grotesque situations were hailed with growing delight. ..."

5. The Quarterly Review by William Gifford, George Walter Prothero, John Gibson Lockhart, John Murray, Whitwell Elwin, John Taylor Coleridge, Rowland Edmund Prothero Ernle, William Macpherson, William Smith (1866)
"A History of Caricature and grotesque in Literature and Art. By Thomas Wright, Esq. ; with Illustrations from various sources, drawn and engraved by FW ..."

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