monster
monster Lexical Profile
monster Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening.
"The children checked under their beds to ensure no monsters were hiding in the shadows."
A person of unnatural or extreme cruelty, wickedness, or depravity.
"History remembers the ruthless dictator as a monster who caused immeasurable suffering."
An animal, plant, or object of extraordinary or daunting size.
"The fisherman struggled for an hour to reel in a monster of a marlin."
Word Nuance & Usage
When functioning as an adjective to describe something of extraordinary size, 'monster' is strictly an attributive noun acting as an adjective and must appear directly before the noun it modifies (e.g., 'a monster wave', never 'the wave was monster').
• Rhymes for monster
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'monstre', borrowed from Old French, which traces back to Latin 'monstrum' (a divine omen, portent, or unnatural event), derived from 'monere' (to warn or advise).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.