monster
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.a scary, imaginary creature that is often large and dangerous.
n.a mythical or fictional creature, typically of frightening appearance and malevolent nature.
Simple“The children believed a monster lived under their bed at night.”
In context“Ancient maps often featured illustrations of sea monsters in unexplored waters to warn sailors of perceived dangers.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a person who is extremely cruel, wicked, or heartless.
n.a person of unnatural cruelty or wickedness whose actions evoke horror.
Simple“The dictator was a monster who treated his own people with terrible cruelty.”
In context“The prosecutor described the defendant as a cold-blooded monster who showed no remorse for his crimes during the trial.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
n.an enemy character that players fight in a video game.
n.a non-player character (NPC) designed as a hostile opponent for players in role-playing or action games.
Simple“You need to defeat the forest monster to get the magic key.”
In context“The game designer increased the monster's health points to ensure the final encounter remained challenging for high-level players.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.unusually large or powerful.
adj.exceptionally large in size, power, or scale. Often used as an attributive adjective.
Simple“The band had a monster hit that stayed at number one for months.”
In context“The company faced a monster deficit after the failed merger, forcing them to sell off several profitable subsidiaries.”
- 05 C1 Advanced
v.to criticize someone very strongly or to follow them around in an annoying way.
v.to criticize, reprimand, or harass someone persistently. Often used in British or Australian contexts.
Simple“The newspapers started to monster the politician after the scandal broke.”
In context“The coach was known to monster his players after a loss, pointing out every minor mistake they made on the field.”
“It opens with a scene of pure horror: it’s Halloween night and a real monster is hiding among the pretend ones.”
“The wild things – fictional monsters Sendak has said were based on his own family members – roll their terrible eyes, gnash their teeth and show their terrible claws.”
From Middle English monstre, from Old French monstre, mostre, moustre, from Latin mōnstrum.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.