monster

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈmɑnstɚ/ UK /ˈmɒnstə(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #1498

Meanings

1

noun
A large, frightening, imaginary creature.

The child was afraid there was a monster under the bed.
2

noun
A cruel or evil person.

Only a monster could treat children so badly.
3

adj
Extremely large (informal).

He has a monster appetite and ate three whole pizzas.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a large, frightening,... beast

3 adj · extremely large (informal). gigantic huge

Word family

Forms monsters

Derived forms bemonsterblondsterclaremonstermermonstermonster-cockmonster-in-lawmonstercockmonsterdommonsterfestmonsterfulmonsterhoodmonsterise

Related forms monstrosemonstrous monstrously

Etymology

From Middle English monstre, from Old French monstre, mostre, moustre, from Latin mōnstrum. Displaced native Old English fīfel and Old English þyrs.

*men- Proto-Indo-European monstre Middle English mōnstrum Latin

View etymology graph ->

External links

# monster

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɑnstɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɒnstə(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 1498

## Meanings
1. A large, frightening, imaginary creature.
2. A cruel or evil person.
3. Extremely large (informal).

## Examples
- The child was afraid there was a monster under the bed.
- Only a monster could treat children so badly.
- He has a monster appetite and ate three whole pizzas.

## Derived Forms
- bemonster
- blondster
- claremonster
- mermonster
- monster-cock
- monster-in-law
- monstercock
- monsterdom
- monsterfest
- monsterful
- monsterhood
- monsterise

## Related Forms
- monstrose
- monstrous
- monstrously

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *men-
- Root: monstre
- Root: mōnstrum

## Etymology
From Middle English monstre, from Old French monstre, mostre, moustre, from Latin mōnstrum. Displaced native Old English fīfel and Old English þyrs.

## AI Etymology
Monster comes from Middle English monstre, from Old French monstre, mostre, moustre, from Latin mōnstrum. Displaced native Old English fīfel and Old English þyrs. In present-day English its meanings include a large, frightening, imaginary creature, a cruel or evil person, and extremely large (informal). The historical chain runs through *men- (Proto-Indo-European), monstre (Middle English), monstre (Old French), and mōnstrum (Latin). Related and derived forms include monstrose, monstrous, monstrously, and bemonster.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Register & Style

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monster

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