Definitions for monster
ˈmɒn stərmon·ster

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. monsternoun

   an imaginary creature usually having various human and animal parts

2. giant, goliath, behemoth, monster, colossusnoun

   someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful

3. freak, monster, monstrosity, lusus naturaenoun

   a person or animal that is markedly unusual or deformed

4. monster, fiend, devil, demon, ogrenoun

   a cruel wicked and inhuman person

5. monster, terasnoun

   (medicine) a grossly malformed and usually nonviable fetus

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 4 votes

1. monsternoun

   A terrifying and dangerous, wild or fictional creature.

2. monsternoun

   A bizarre or whimsical creature.

   The children decided Grover was a cuddly monster.

3. monsternoun

   An extremely cruel or antisocial person, especially a criminal.

   Get away from those children, you meatheaded monster!

4. monsternoun

   A horribly deformed person.

5. monsternoun

   A badly behaved child, a brat.

   Sit still, you little monster!

6. monsternoun

   Something unusually large.

   Have you seen those powerlifters on TV? They're monsters.

7. monsternoun

   A prodigy; someone very talented in a specific domain.

   That dude playing guitar is a monster.

8. monsterverb

   To make into a monster; to categorise as a monster; to demonise.

9. monsterverb

   To behave as a monster to; to terrorise.

10. monsterverb

    To harass.

11. monsteradjective

    Very large; worthy of a monster.

    He has a monster appetite.

12. Etymology: From and monstre, itself from monstrum.

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

1. MONSTERnoun

   Etymology: monstre, Fr. monstrum, Latin.

   1. Something out of the common order of nature.

   It ought to be determined whether monsters be really a distinct species; we find, that some of these monstrous productions have none of those qualities that accompany the essence of that species from whence they derive. John Locke.

   2. Something horrible for deformity, wickedness, or mischief.

   If she live long,
   And, in the end, meet the old course of death,
   Women will all turn monsters. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   All human virtue
   Finds envy never conquer’d but by death:
   The great Alcides ev’ry labour past,
   Had still this monster to subdue at last. Alexander Pope.

2. To Monsterverb

   To put out of the common order of things. Not in use.

   Etymology: from the noun.

   Her offence
   Must be of such unnatural degree
   That monsters it. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   I had rather have one scratch my head i’ th’ sun,
   When the alarum were struck, than idly sit
   To hear my nothings monster’d. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Monster

   A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fear. Monsters usually resemble bizarre, deformed, otherworldly and/or mutated animals or entirely unique creatures of varying sizes, but may also take a human form, such as mutants, ghosts and spirits, zombies or cannibals, among other things. They may or may not have supernatural powers, but are usually capable of killing or causing some form of destruction, threatening the social or moral order of the human world in the process. Animal monsters are outside the moral order, but sometimes have their origin in some human violation of the moral law (e.g. in the Greek myth, Minos does not sacrifice to Poseidon the white bull which the god sent him, so as punishment Poseidon makes Minos' wife, Pasiphaë, fall in love with the bull. She copulates with the beast, and gives birth to the man with a bull's head, the Minotaur). Human monsters are those who by birth were never fully human (Medusa and her Gorgon sisters) or who through some supernatural or unnatural act lost their humanity (werewolves, Frankenstein's monster), and so who can no longer, or who never could, follow the moral law of human society. Monsters may also be depicted as misunderstood and friendly creatures who frighten individuals away without wanting to, or may be so large, strong and clumsy that they cause unintentional damage or death. Some monsters in fiction are depicted as mischievous and boisterous but not necessarily threatening (such as a sly goblin), while others may be docile but prone to becoming angry or hungry, thus needing to be tamed and taught to resist savage urges, or killed if they cannot be handled or controlled successfully. Monsters pre-date written history, and the academic study of the particular cultural notions expressed in a society's ideas of monsters is known as monstrophy. Monsters have appeared in literature and in feature-length films. Well-known monsters in fiction include Count Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, werewolves, vampires, demons, mummies, and zombies.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 2 votes

1. Monsternoun

   something of unnatural size, shape, or quality; a prodigy; an enormity; a marvel

2. Monsternoun

   specifically , an animal or plant departing greatly from the usual type, as by having too many limbs

3. Monsternoun

   any thing or person of unnatural or excessive ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty

4. Monsteradjective

   monstrous in size

5. Monsterverb

   to make monstrous

6. Etymology: [OE. monstre, F. monstre, fr. L. monstrum, orig., a divine omen, indicating misfortune; akin of monstrare to show, point out, indicate, and monere to warn. See Monition, and cf. Demonstrate, Muster.]

FreebaseRate this definition:3.7 / 3 votes

1. Monster

   A monster is any creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is often hideous and may produce fear or physical harm by its appearance and/or its actions. The word "monster" derives from Latin monstrum, an aberrant occurrence, usually biological, that was taken as a sign that something was wrong within the natural order. The word usually connotes something wrong or evil; a monster is generally morally objectionable, physically or psychologically hideous, and/or a freak of nature. It can also be applied figuratively to a person with similar characteristics like a greedy person or a person who does horrible things. However, the root of 'monstrum' is 'monere'—which does not only mean to warn, but also to instruct, and forms the basis of the modern English demonstrate. Thus, the monster is also a sign or instruction. This benign interpretation was proposed by Saint Augustine, who did not see the monster as inherently evil, but as part of the natural design of the world, a kind-of deliberate category error.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 2 votes

1. Monster

   mon′stėr, n. anything out of the usual course of nature: a prodigy, or fabulous animal: anything unusually large: anything horrible from ugliness or wickedness.—adj. unusually large, huge.—n. Monstros′ity, an unnatural production.—adj. Mon′strous, out of the common course of nature: enormous: wonderful: horrible.—adv. Mon′strously.—n. Mon′strousness, state or quality of being monstrous.—Gila monster, a large poisonous lizard of Arizona, &c., having tubercular scales. [Fr.,—L. monstrum, an omen, a monster—monēre, to warn.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. monster

   Song lyrics by monster -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by monster on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Imaginary Being

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'monster' in Nouns Frequency: #2081

Anagrams for monster »

1. mentors

2. meronts

3. metrons

How to pronounce monster?

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 monster in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of monster in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of monster in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of monster in a Sentence

1. Danielle McCalla:

   It’s the same thing that keeps happening, it’s a bigger monster than we think it is.

2. Yahya Abdul-Mateen:

   I believe the majority of history remembers Candyman as a monster, the guy with the hook and the bees coming out of his mouth. But they don't remember the fact that Candyman was lynched. They don't remember how Candyman was turned into a monster.

3. Phil Vetrano:

   That monster killed four people the night of August 2, one is in heaven. The other three walk the earth as zombies, just waiting to die to be with Karina again.

4. Liora Rez:

   I think the DC public school system needs to be held accountable for how in the world they allowed a monster like her to be around young children and create the type of traumatic environment that she did.

5. Gavin Parry:

   The Japan Post IPO has performed as well as expected this morning, and on top of that we've seen a real sentiment boost based on the monster rally in the U.S..

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