grotesque

Pronunciation: /grə(ʊ)ˈtɛsk/

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Definition of grotesque

adjective

comically or repulsively ugly or distorted:a figure wearing a grotesque mask
incongruous or inappropriate to a shocking degree:a lifestyle of grotesque luxury

noun

1a very ugly or comically distorted figure or image:the rods are carved in the form of a series of gargoyle faces and grotesques
[mass noun] a style of decorative painting or sculpture consisting of the interweaving of human and animal forms with flowers and foliage.

2 [mass noun] Printing a family of 19th-century sans serif typefaces.

Derivatives

grotesquely
grotesqueness

Origin:

mid 16th century (as noun): from French crotesque (the earliest form in English), from Italian grottesca, from opera or pittura grottesca 'work or painting resembling that found in a grotto'; ‘grotto’ here probably denoted the rooms of ancient buildings in Rome which had been revealed by excavations, and which contained murals in the grotesque style

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Other

grotesque

adjective

noun

Derivatives

grotesquely

grotesqueness

Origin:

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grotesque in other Oxford dictionaries

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