grotesque

/grō-ˈtesk/

Middle French & Old Italian; Middle French, from Old Italian (pittura) grottesca, literally, cave painting, feminine of grottesco of a cave, from grotta seegrotto

noun

  1. a style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity, ugliness, or caricature

  2. a piece of work in this style

  3. one that is grotesque

an ornate structure, embellished with grotesques

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the grotesque: such as

  2. fanciful, bizarre

  3. absurdly incongruous

a grotesque Halloween costume

fantastic bizarre grotesque mean conceived, made, or carried out without adherence to truth or reality. fantastic may connote extravagance in conception or ingenuity of decorative invention. bizarre applies to the sensationally strange and implies violence of contrast or incongruity of combination.