monstering

Pluralmonsterings

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The act of harassing, intimidating, or fiercely criticizing someone, especially in a sustained or public way.

   After the scandal, the minister endured weeks of monstering in the tabloid press.

   The coach's decision earned him a furious monstering from loyal supporters.

   Similarvilification, harassment, mauling, battering

   Note

   The noun reaches as far as the verb's many senses do, and it can be counted. Weeks of monstering in the tabloids is the familiar use, but the plural can also name literal transformation into something monstrous. A. J. Penny's Studies in Jacob Bohme (2016) speaks of "the monsterings and transformings of souls after death," pairing it with another -ing noun of change.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of monster.

   The press is monstering the politician for her offhand remarks.

   Critics spent weeks monstering the studio over its handling of the release.

   Note

   A participle that carries every meaning of the verb, and those meanings split by region. Condemning or reprimanding someone, as the press does, is British and informal. In Australia it means harassing. In UK usage it can also mean playing a game's non-player characters as directed, without running the game itself. The same spelling doubles as a noun for the act itself, with the plural monsterings.

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