grotesque
adjective/ɡrəʊˈtesk/
/ɡrəʊˈtesk/
- strange in a way that is unpleasant or offensive
- a grotesque distortion of the truth
- The story was too grotesque to believe.
- It's grotesque to expect a person of her experience to work for so little money.
- The whole situation was really grotesque.
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- extremely ugly in a strange way that is often frightening or funny
- It was a grotesque figure with a snarling beast's head.
- dancers wearing grotesque masks
- She was frightened by the grotesque appearance of the mime artists.
Word Originmid 16th cent. (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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grotesque