grotesque

 
Pronunciation: /grə(ʊ)ˈtɛsk/

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

adverb

grotesqueness

noun

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

Spelling help

Spell grotesque with -esque at the end.