monster

Less common meanings

9. 9
   act brutallyverbintransitive

   To behave brutally toward others; to terrorize.

   The interrogators asked members of the 377th Military Police Company to help them with monstering, and the MPs complied.

   2010, Joshua E. S. Phillips, None of Us Were Like This Before: American Soldiers and Torture

   Similarbully

   Note

   Military interrogation gave the verb a grim technical life. Darius Rejali's Torture and Democracy (2007) reports that American interrogators in Afghanistan in 2002 called a sleep-deprivation method 'monstering', keeping a prisoner awake for as long as the interrogator could last. In this use the -ing form works almost as a noun: one helps with monstering, as military police were asked to do. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • Darius Rejali wrote Torture and Democracy, first published in 2007. assets.press.princeton.edu
   • Rejali reports that American interrogators in Afghanistan in 2002 called a technique 'monstering'. en.wiktionary.org
   • The method permitted keeping a prisoner awake for as long as an interrogator could last. en.wiktionary.org
   • Military police were asked to help with monstering; the quoted construction is attested. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    paint as evilverbtransitive

    To portray or label someone as evil; to demonize.

    Wartime propaganda often monstered the enemy, painting ordinary soldiers as bloodthirsty savages.

    Critics accused the campaign of trying to monster immigrants in order to win votes.

    UsageYou may see the passive form be monstered, or monstered alongside another participle: stigmatised and monstered.

    Similardemonize, vilify, pillory, smear

    Oppositeglorify, lionize

    Note

    Animals are 'monstered by human action', women 'monstered by passion', and released offenders 'remain stigmatised and monstered'. It also pairs with demonize, as in Stephen T. Asma's On Monsters (2009). Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The quotation about animals being 'monstered by human action' is attested. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quotation about women being 'monstered by passion' is attested in Michael Slater's Dickens and Women. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quotation 'remain stigmatised and monstered' refers to offenders emerging from prison. en.wiktionary.org
    • Stephen T. Asma wrote On Monsters, originally published in 2009; 2011 is its first paperback publication year. api.pageplace.de
    • Asma pairs 'demonizing' with 'monstering' in On Monsters. en.wiktionary.org
11. 11
    scoldverbcolloquialBritishtransitive

    To condemn or scold someone harshly.

    He'll monster you if you turn up late again.

    The manager monstered his players at half-time.

    Similarberate, scold, rebuke, lambaste

    Oppositepraise, commend

    Note

    To be monstered in informal British speech is to get a dressing-down. Keep it apart from the 'demonize' verb, which is about labeling someone as evil. Keep it apart too from the Australian 'harass' sense, which is about persistence. This one is a single sharp telling-off.

12. 12
    pesterverbAustraliatransitive

    To harass or pester someone persistently, or to overwhelm them, as a stronger opponent does in sport.

    My little brother would monster me for weeks until I finally lent him my bike.

    Debt collectors monstered the family with daily phone calls.

    Similarharass, pester, hound, badger, hassle

    Note

    This is an Australian usage, and in sports reporting it means being overwhelmed by an opponent. In 2009 the Herald Sun wrote that Andy Roddick 'has been monstered by both Federer and Nadal'. Like the 'demonize' verb, it often appears as 'monstered by', so context decides whether someone was beaten down or branded evil. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The Herald Sun published the cited passage in 2009. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted wording concerns Andy Roddick and is reproduced accurately. en.wiktionary.org
13. 13
    play side rolesverbUKintransitive

    In live action role-playing, to play non-player characters as directed by the organizers, without running the game yourself.

    She offered to monster for the second act, playing villagers and guards.

    Crew members monstered all night, switching between dozens of roles.

    Note

    British live-action role-players use the word for the volunteer side of a game. Those who monster play villagers, guards or foes as the organizers direct, while someone else runs the event. The event itself can be the object: 'Are you monstering that event?' Compare the gaming noun. There, the monster is what players fight; here, monstering is a job that may involve no fighting at all. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • British LARP organizers call volunteer participation 'monstering'. wiki.curiouspastimes.co.uk
    • Monstering involves playing assigned characters under the direction of referees, without responsibility for organizing the game. camlarp.co.uk
    • The event can be the verb's object; the quoted sentence is an attested usage example, without an attributed speaker. en.wiktionary.org
    • The gaming noun denotes an opponent, whereas monstering can involve non-combat roles. wiki.curiouspastimes.co.uk
14. 14
    nounarchaic

    A severely deformed animal or person, once regarded at birth as a bad omen.

    Chroniclers recorded the birth of a monster that year as a sign of coming disaster.

    "Periodically, storms would bring the creeping death to the valley - drifting clouds of radio-active dust - and men would sicken and die and women give birth to monsters."

    1957, Sydney J. Bounds, The Robot Brains

    Note

    Medicine kept this meaning as a technical term after the omen-reading had faded. The Medico-Chirurgical Review of 1837 discusses the circulation of 'the monster' in twin conceptions, and The Veterinary Journal of 1900 describes 'An Acardiac Monster'. The sense is now archaic. Applied to a human being it is offensive, so when writing about such cases today, describe the condition rather than use the label. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Medical science retained the terminology as supernatural interpretations of congenital abnormalities receded. gutenberg.org
    • The Medico-Chirurgical Review in 1837 discusses the circulation of 'the monster' in twin conceptions. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    • The Veterinary Journal published 'An Acardiac Monster' in 1900. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    disabled person (insult)nounoffensivecountable

    An offensive term for a disabled person.

    Throughout his childhood, neighbors shunned him as a monster because of his twisted limbs.

    Cruel relatives whispered that the blind child was a monster and a curse.

    UsageSay disabled person or person with a disability instead.

    Note

    It is a slur rather than a description, and one to avoid. It carries over the old link between bodily difference and ill omen found in the archaic 'deformed birth' meaning. Where it must be discussed, quote it and attribute it. Never use it in your own voice. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The archaic meaning refers to a person or animal with congenital bodily differences. en.wiktionary.org
    • Such births were historically associated with ill omens or warnings. en.wikipedia.org