Definitions for GROTESQUE
groʊˈtɛskgrotesque

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.8 / 4 votes

1. grotesqueadjective

   art characterized by an incongruous mixture of parts of humans and animals interwoven with plants

2. grotesque, monstrousadjective

   distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous

   "tales of grotesque serpents eight fathoms long that churned the seas"; "twisted into monstrous shapes"

3. antic, fantastic, fantastical, grotesqueadjective

   ludicrously odd

   "Hamlet's assumed antic disposition"; "fantastic Halloween costumes"; "a grotesque reflection in the mirror"

WiktionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. grotesquenoun

   A style of ornamentation characterized by fanciful combinations of intertwined forms.

2. grotesquenoun

   Anything grotesque.

3. grotesquenoun

   A sans serif typeface.

4. grotesqueadjective

   distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous

5. grotesqueadjective

   disgusting or otherwise viscerally reviling.

6. grotesqueadjective

   sans serif.

7. Etymology: grotesque (French: grotesque), from grottesco, from grotta. Compare English grotto.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Grotesqueadjective

   Distorted of figure; unnatural; wildly formed.

   Etymology: grotesque, French; grottesco, Italian.

   The champaign head
   Of a steep wilderness, whose hairy sides
   With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild,
   Access deny’d. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. iv.

   There is yet a lower sort of poetry and painting, which is out of nature; for a farce is that in poetry which grotesque is in a picture: the persons and actions of a farce are all unnatural, and the manners false, that is, inconsisting with the characters of mankind: grotesque painting is the just resemblance of this. John Dryden, Dufresnoy.

   An hideous figure of their foes they drew,
   Nor lines, nor looks, nor shades, nor colours true,
   And this grotesque design expos’d to publick view. Dryden.

   Palladian walls, Venetian doors,
   Grotesco roofs, and stucco floors. Alexander Pope, Sat. of Horace.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. grotesque

   Grotesque often refers to a style of decorative art or an object that is characterized by distorted or exaggerated proportions and features, often to the point of being bizarre or eerie. In literature, grotesque may refer to characters or circumstances that are strange, incongruous, or absurdly unusual. This term is generally associated with something that simultaneously arouses empathy and disgust.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Grotesquenoun

   a whimsical figure, or scene, such as is found in old crypts and grottoes

2. Grotesquenoun

   artificial grotto-work

3. Etymology: [F., fr. It. grottesco, fr. grotta grotto. See Grotto.]

WikidataRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Grotesque

   The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "grotto", which originated from Greek krypte "hidden place", meaning a small cave or hollow. The original meaning was restricted to an extravagant style of Ancient Roman decorative art rediscovered and then copied in Rome at the end of the 15th century. The "caves" were in fact rooms and corridors of the Domus Aurea, the unfinished palace complex started by Nero after the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, which had become overgrown and buried, until they were broken into again, mostly from above. Spreading from Italian to the other European languages, the term was long used largely interchangeably with arabesque and moresque for types of decorative patterns using curving foliage elements. Since at least the 18th century, grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, fantastic, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus is often used to describe weird shapes and distorted forms such as Halloween masks. In art, performance, and literature, grotesque, however, may also refer to something that simultaneously invokes in an audience a feeling of uncomfortable bizarreness as well as empathic pity. More specifically, the grotesque forms on Gothic buildings, when not used as drain-spouts, should not be called gargoyles, but rather referred to simply as grotesques, or chimeras.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Grotesque

   grō-tesk′, adj. extravagantly formed: ludicrous.—n. (art) extravagant ornament, containing animals, plants, &c. not really existing.—adv. Grotesque′ly.—ns. Grotesque′ness; Grotesqu′ery. [Fr. grotesque—It. grotesca—grotta, a grotto.]

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce GROTESQUE?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say GROTESQUE in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of GROTESQUE in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of GROTESQUE in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of GROTESQUE in a Sentence

1. Zalmay Khalilzad:

   The attack on Amrullah Saleh's political party offices was grotesque and a clear act of terrorism.

2. Stephen Colbert:

   It's predictable why these TV talkers are talking like this on the TV. They want to talk about something other than the January 6th hearings on the actual seditious insurrection that led to the deaths of multiple people, but drawing any equivalence between rioters storming our Capitol to prevent the counting of electoral ballots and a cigar-chomping toy dog is a shameful and grotesque insult to the memory of everyone who died.

3. Gerald Scarfe:

   I do have a weird vision of the world, ever since I started I was told, 'You're Hieronymus Bosch, your drawings are grotesque.' But of course, they don't seem like that to me.

4. André Breton:

   To speak of God, to think of God, is in every respect to show what one is made of. I have always wagered against God and I regard the little that I have won in this world as simply the outcome of this bet. However paltry may have been the stake (my life) I am conscious of having won to the full. Everything that is doddering, squint-eyed, vile, polluted and grotesque is summoned up for me in that one word: God!

5. John White:

   You see a pretty grotesque example of misspending of taxpayer dollars.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=GROTESQUE
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Grotesque
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=GROTESQUE
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/GROTESQUE
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=GROTESQUE
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=GROTESQUE
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=GROTESQUE