monster

• monstre (obsolete)

From Middle English monstre, from Old French monstre, mostre, moustre, from Latin mōnstrum.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɒnstə(ɹ)/
• (US) enPR: mŏn'stə(r), IPA^(key): /ˈmɑnstɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒnstə(ɹ)

monster (plural monsters)

1. A terrifying and dangerous creature, especially one of an imaginary or mythical kind.

   Synonym: beast

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     O, 'twas a din to fright a monster's ear,/ to make an earthquake.

   • 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 6:

     [T]he monſter [sc. a tiger], rouſed by the noiſe, ſtarted forward, preſented ſuch a viſage of horror, and raiſed ſuch a hideous roar, that the hearts of the bold were contracted, and the nerves of the valiant unſtrung.

2. A bizarre or whimsical creature.

   The children decided Grover was a cuddly monster.

3. A cruel, heartless, or antisocial person, especially a criminal.

   Get away from those children, you monster!

   • 2006, Jonathan Coulton (lyrics and music), “Re: Your Brains”, in Thing a Week Two‎^[1]:

     I'm not a monster, Tom, well, technically I am / I guess I am...

   • 2018 September 16, Mary Townsend, “Throw Your Children’s Art Away”, in The Atlantic‎^[2], retrieved 2022-12-19:

     My young children leave their art everywhere. I find most of it on the floor. […] Eventually, I started throwing it all away. Perhaps I am a monster.

   • 2019 May 24, Joey Peters, “'Embodiment of evil': Jayme Closs kidnapper sentenced to die in prison”, in The Guardian‎^[3]:

     "Because of this monster, Jayme won't have her mom and dad at her dance recitals," Mike Closs, Jayme's uncle, said in court. Closs' aunt Jennifer Smith said the family was satisfied with the sentence and knew it would give Jayme peace.

   • 2023, Ennaria (lyrics and music), “Monstarrr”‎^[4]:

     So go and tell your friends that I'm a fucking monster / Sugar, spice and torture / Do it for the culture

5. (archaic) A deformed animal or person (especially, a severely deformed one); in previous centuries often taken as an ill omen at the time of its birth. (Offensive when applied to humans in modern usage.)

   The villagers were worried because the weather had been strange and several monsters had been born among the flocks and people.

   • 1837, Medico-Chirurgical Review, page 465:

     Deducting then these cases, we have a large proportion of imperfect foetuses, which belonged to twin conceptions, and in which, therefore, the circulation of the monster may have essentially depended on that of the sound child.

   • 1900 April, O. Charnock Bradley, “An Acardiac Monster”, in The Veterinary Journal [British Veterinary Journal]‎^[5], volume 1 (New Series), number 16, pages 207–208:

     Cases of twins developed from one ovum, where one twin flourishes at the expense of its less fortunate partner, are not by any means uncommonly met with in veterinary practice. This is evidenced by the fairly frequent descriptions in veterinary periodicals of so-called "moles." It is not, therefore, with the idea of describing any monster of startling newness that I am tempted to record the anatomical peculiarities of one such anomaly; but rather because "moles," as described most commonly in veterinary journals, are viewed from the exterior only; their inner organisation being, for the most part, either ignored entirely, or treated of in a very cavalier manner. No doubt the external form and semblance of any monster is a matter of interest, but alone it is not satisfying; nor, indeed, is it always a trustworthy indication of the most important peculiarities of the organism. The outer architecture of a monster may be entirely misleading if taken too implicitly as a reflex of the internal furnishings. Especially is this the more likely to be the case when the malformation is great.

6. (figuratively, humorous) A badly behaved person, especially a child; a brat.

   Sit still, you little monster!

7. (informal) Something unusually large.

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

   • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 250:

     Although she, for many years had waged continual war against rheumatism, her pleasant face shone like the full moon from under the white head-gear, while she had protected herself against any possible attack of the enemy by a multiplicity of petticoats and jackets; and as an outer fortification she had put on a monster of a frieze cloak.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Bridge, Command Deck, SSV Normandy:

     Ashley: Look at the size of that ship!
     Kaidan: The Ascension. Flagship of the Citadel fleet.
     Joker: Well, size isn't everything.
     Ashley: Why so touchy, Joker?
     Joker: I'm just saying you need firepower, too.
     Ashley: Look at that monster! It's main gun could rip through the barriers on any ship in the Alliance fleet.

8. (informal) A prodigy; someone very talented in a specific domain.

   That dude playing guitar is a monster.

   • 2009, Carol Ann Harris, Storms: My Life with Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac, page 216:

     He was a party monster. Able to drink and drug just about any member of the Fleetwood Mac family under the table, he did so with regularity and charm.

9. (gaming) A non-player character that player(s) fight against in role-playing games; a mob

• (in most senses): monstrosity

• monstrous
• monstrously
• monstrose

• → German: Monster
• → Japanese: モンスター (monsutā)
• → Korean: 몬스터 (monseuteo)

monster (not comparable)

1. (informal) Very large; worthy of a monster.

   Synonyms: monstrous, gigantic

   He has a monster appetite.

   • 2004, Rex Pickett, Sideways‎^[6], page 55:

     I turned to Jack and said, "It's supposed to be monster."

   • 2009, Michael O'Hearn, The Kids' Guide to Monster Trucks:

     How do you get more monster than a monster truck? You build a monster tank.

2. (informal) Great; very good; excellent.
   • 2010, Andrew Klavan, The Long Way Home, page 231:

     “You did great today,” I told Josh. “You were monster.” “yeah,” he said. “I was monster. Thank you, Charlie.”

   • 2024 August 29, Alex Mills, “Larne headed for Conference League group stages as Andy Ryan hat-trick secures historic Play-Off joy”, in Belfast Telegraph‎^[7]:

     Seconds later Nano’s monster throw-in from the left was recycled to the wing-back and, when he produced the most delicious of deliveries, the totally unmarked Lopes drilled home from six yards.

monster (third-person singular simple present monsters, present participle monstering, simple past and past participle monstered)

1. (transitive) To make into a monster; to categorise as a monster; to demonise.
   • 1968, Robert Lowell, Robert Lowell: A Collection of Critical Essays, page 145:

     Animals in our world have been monstered by human action as much as the free beasts of the pre-lapsarian state were monstered by the primal crime.

   • 1983, Michael Slater, Dickens and Women, page 290:

     A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations feature four cases of women monstered by passion. Madame Defarge is ‘a tigress’, Mrs Joe a virago, Molly (Estella′s criminal mother) ‘a wild beast tamed’ and Miss Havisham a witch-like creature, a ghastly combination of waxwork and skeleton.

   • 2005, Diana Medlicott, “The Unbearable Brutality of Being: Casual Cruelty in Prison and What This Tells Us About Who We Really Are”, in Margaret Sönser Breen, editor, Minding Evil: Explorations of Human Iniquity, page 82:

     The community forgives: this is in deep contrast to offenders that emerge from prison and remain stigmatised and monstered, often unable to get work or housing.

   • 2011, Stephen T. Asma, On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears, page 234:

     Demonizing or monstering other groups has even become part of the cycle of American politics.

2. (intransitive) To behave as a monster to; to terrorise.
   • 2009, Darius Rejali, Torture and Democracy, page 292:

     In 2002, American interrogators on the ground in Afghanistan developed a technique they called “monstering.” The commander “instituted a new rule that a prisoner could be kept awake and in the booth for as long as an interrogator could last.” One “monstering” interrogator engaged in this for thirty hours.¹⁷⁷

   • 2010, Joshua E. S. Phillips, None of Us Were Like This Before: American Soldiers and Torture, page 39:

     The interrogators asked members of the 377th Military Police Company to help them with monstering, and the MPs complied.

3. (chiefly Australia) To harass.
   • 2009 January 31, Leo Schlink, “Match looms as final for the ages”, in Herald Sun‎^[8], archived from the original on 2 February 2009:

     Andy Roddick has been monstered by both Federer and Nadal and suffered a 6-2 7-5 7-5 semi-final loss at the hands of the Swiss champion.

4. (UK, live action roleplaying games) To play (a series of) non-player characters as directed, without having the responsibility of organising the game itself; generally not limited to playing literal monsters or hostile combatants.

   Are you monstering that event?

5. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (informal, British, transitive, intransitive) To punish, reprimand or intimidate.

   "Get the hell out of here!" Dante monstered when Santa approached the high school carolers.

• Monters, mentors, meronts, metrons, monstre, montres, termons

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɔnstər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mon‧ster

From Middle Dutch monster, probably from Old French monstre, from Latin mōnstrum. Cognate with English monster.

monster n (plural monsters, diminutive monstertje n)

1. a monster, terrifying and dangerous creature
2. an extremely antisocial person, especially a criminal

• Negerhollands: monsta

Cognate with English muster.

monster n (plural monsters, diminutive monstertje n)

1. sample; small, representative quantity of a substance or material, as used for analysis or selection

   De inspectie nam een monster van het water.

   The inspection took a sample of the water.

   We hebben monsters van alle soorten behang.

   We have samples of all types of wallpaper.

• → Papiamentu: mònster, monster

monster

1. inflection of monsteren:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

• morsten, stormen, stromen

• Audio:

  (file)

From Latin monstrum.

monster n

1. a monster (similar senses to English)

• monstruös

• odjur
• vidunder
• best

• monster in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• monster in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• monster in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

From English monster.

monster c

1. (common) a Monster Energy drink

• mentors, mostern, stormen