adj. & n.
adj. 1 comically or repulsively distorted; monstrous, unnatural. 2 incongruous, ludicrous, absurd.
n. 1 a decorative form interweaving human and animal features. 2 a comically distorted figure or design. 3 Printing a family of sanserif typefaces. grotesquely adv. grotesqueness n. grotesquerie n.
[ earlier crotesque f. F crotesque f. It. grottesca grotto-like (painting etc.) fem. of grottesco (as GROTTO, -ESQUE) ]