Definition

Adverb: 1. In a monstrous, grotesque, or shockingly abnormal manner: Describes an action done in a way that is outrageously wrong, unnatural, or horrifying, often evoking a sense of disgust or horror. 2. To a monstrous degree; extremely or outrageously: Used as an intensifier to mean "extremely" or "outrageously," often in a negative context.

Usage Examples

• Describing a grotesque or horrifying manner:
  • The statue was monstrously deformed, with limbs twisted in impossible angles.
  • The villain laughed monstrously as he revealed his terrible plan.
• Used as an intensifier meaning "extremely":
  • The prices at that boutique are monstrously high.
  • He was monstrously unfair in his criticism of her work.

Advanced Usage

• "monstrously unjust": describes something that is extremely and shockingly unfair.
  • The court's decision was seen as monstrously unjust by the public.
• "monstrously large": emphasizes an extremely and almost unnaturally large size.
  • A monstrously large wave crashed against the shore.

Variants and Related Words

• Monstrous (adjective): Shockingly ugly, horrible, or wicked; extraordinarily large.
  • It was a monstrous crime that horrified the nation.
  • They faced a monstrous task of cleaning up after the flood.
• Monstrosity (noun): Something, especially a building, that is very large and unsightly; the state or character of being monstrous.
  • Many considered the new skyscraper an architectural monstrosity.

Synonyms

• Grotesquely: In a comically or repulsively distorted manner.
• Hideously: In a very ugly or unpleasant manner.
• Outrageously: In a shockingly bad or excessive manner.
• Heinously: In a utterly odious or wicked manner.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "monstrously cruel": describes an action of extreme and shocking cruelty.
  • The treatment of the prisoners was monstrously cruel.
• "monstrously wrong": indicates that something is not just incorrect, but egregiously and offensively so.
  • His assumptions about her were monstrously wrong.

Adverb

1. in a grotesque manner
   • behind the house lay two nude figures grotesquely bald, with deliberate knife-slashes marking their bodies
2. in a terribly evil manner
   • the child was heinously murdered
3. in a hideous manner
   • her face was hideously disfigured after the accident