Meanings
plural monstrosities · alternative obsolete monstruosity
- An organism showing abnormal development or deformity.
Geoffroy St. Hilaire's experiments show that unnatural treatment of the embryo causes monstrosities; and monstrosities cannot be separated by any clear line of distinction from mere variations.
1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Variation under Domestication”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 8Synonyms: monster
- The state of being monstrous.
Synonyms: monstrousness
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn organism showing abnormal development or deformity.
nounA monstrous person, thing, or act.
nounThe state of being monstrous.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna person or animal that is markedly unusual or deformed
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinmōnstruōsus
- Late Latinmōnstruōsitās
- Middle Frenchmonstruosité
- Middle Englishmonstruosite
- Englishmonstrosity
From Middle English monstruosite, from Middle French monstruosité and its etymon Late Latin mōnstruōsitās, mōnstrōsitās (“monstrousness”), from Latin mōnstruōsus, mōnstrōsus; by surface analysis, monstrous + -ity.
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans gedrog
- gedrogMonstrous thing, person or act
Bulgarian чудовище, чудовищност
- чудовище (čudovište)Monstrous thing, person or act
- чудовищност (čudovištnost)State of being monstrous
Chinese Mandarin 怪物
- 怪物 (guàiwu)Monstrous thing, person or act
Danish skrummel
- skrummelMonstrous thing, person or act
Dutch wangedrocht, monstruositeit
- wangedrochtMonstrous thing, person or act
- monstruositeitState of being monstrous
- misvormingState of being monstrous
- wanstaltigheidState of being monstrous
Esperanto monstraĵo, abomenaĵo
- monstraĵoMonstrous thing, person or act
- abomenaĵoMonstrous thing, person or act
Finnish hirvitys, rumilus
- hirvitysMonstrous thing, person or act
- rumilusMonstrous thing, person or act
- hirviömäisyysState of being monstrous
French monstruosité, monstruosité
- monstruositéMonstrous thing, person or act
- monstruositéState of being monstrous
German Monstrosität, Monstrum
- MonstrositätMonstrous thing, person or act
- MonstrumMonstrous thing, person or act
- UngeheuerMonstrous thing, person or act
- UngeheuerlichkeitState of being monstrous
- MonstrositätState of being monstrous
Greek τερατούργημα
- τερατούργημα (teratoúrgima)Monstrous thing, person or act
Hebrew מפלצתיות
- מפלצתיותMonstrous thing, person or act
Irish anchúinseacht
- anchúinseachtState of being monstrous
Japanese 怪異
- 怪異 (kaii)Monstrous thing, person or act
Norwegian uhyrlighet
- uhyrlighetMonstrous thing, person or act
Persian هیولایی, هیولایی
- هیولایی (hayulāyi)Monstrous thing, person or act
- هیولایی (hayulāyi)State of being monstrous
Polish potworność, potworność
- potwornośćMonstrous thing, person or act
- potwornośćState of being monstrous
Portuguese monstruosidade, monstruosidade
- monstruosidadeMonstrous thing, person or act
- monstruosidadeState of being monstrous
Romanian monstruozitate
- monstruozitateMonstrous thing, person or act
Russian чудо́вище, чудо́вищность
- чудо́вище (čudóvišče)Monstrous thing, person or act
- чудо́вищность (čudóviščnostʹ)State of being monstrous
Spanish monstruosidad, monstruosidad
- monstruosidadMonstrous thing, person or act
- monstruosidadState of being monstrous
Ukrainian жахливість
- жахливість (žaxlyvistʹ)Monstrous thing, person or act
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with monstrosity
Cite this entry
monstrosity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monstrosity
“monstrosity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monstrosity. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monstrosity,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monstrosity.
Source: monstrosity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.