Grotesque vs. Gothic — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Grotesque and Gothic
ADVERTISEMENT
Compare with Definitions
Grotesque
Since at least the 18th century Italy (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus is often used to describe weird shapes and distorted forms such as Halloween masks. In art, performance, and literature, however, grotesque may also refer to something that simultaneously invokes in an audience a feeling of uncomfortable bizarreness as well as sympathetic pity.
Gothic
Of or relating to the Goths or their language.
Grotesque
Comically or repulsively ugly or distorted
A figure wearing a grotesque mask
Gothic
Germanic; Teutonic.
Grotesque
A very ugly or comically distorted figure or image
The rods are carved in the form of a series of gargoyle faces and grotesques
ADVERTISEMENT
Gothic
Of or relating to the Middle Ages; medieval.
Grotesque
A family of 19th-century sans serif typefaces.
Gothic
Of or relating to an architectural style prevalent in western Europe from the 12th through the 15th century and characterized by pointed arches, rib vaulting, and an emphasis on verticality and the impression of height.
Grotesque
Characterized by ludicrous, repulsive, or incongruous distortion, as of appearance or manner.
Gothic
Of or relating to an architectural style derived from medieval Gothic.
Grotesque
Outlandish or bizarre, as in character or appearance.
Gothic
Of or relating to painting, sculpture, or other art forms prevalent in northern Europe from the 12th through the 15th century.
Grotesque
Of, relating to, or being the grotesque style in art or a work executed in this style.
Gothic
Often gothic Of or relating to a style of fiction that emphasizes the grotesque, mysterious, and desolate.
Grotesque
One that is grotesque.
Gothic
Gothic Barbarous; crude.
Grotesque
A style of painting, sculpture, and ornamentation in which natural forms and monstrous figures are intertwined in bizarre or fanciful combinations.
Gothic
The extinct East Germanic language of the Goths.
Grotesque
A work of art executed in this style.
Gothic
Gothic art or architecture.
Grotesque
Distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal, especially in a hideous way.
Gothic
See black letter.
Grotesque
Disgusting or otherwise viscerally revolting.
Gothic
See sans serif.
Grotesque
(typography) Sans serif.
Gothic
A novel in a style emphasizing the grotesque, mysterious, and desolate.
Grotesque
A style of ornamentation characterized by fanciful combinations of intertwined forms.
Gothic
Alternative case form of Gothic
Grotesque
Anything grotesque.
Gothic
Pertaining to the Goths; as, Gothic customs; also, rude; barbarous.
Grotesque
(typography) A sans serif typeface.
Gothic
Of or pertaining to a style of architecture with pointed arches, steep roofs, windows large in proportion to the wall spaces, and, generally, great height in proportion to the other dimensions - prevalent in Western Europe from about 1200 to 1475 a. d. See Illust. of Abacus, and Capital.
Grotesque
Like the figures found in ancient grottoes; grottolike.
Gothic
The language of the Goths; especially, the language of that part of the Visigoths who settled in Moesia in the 4th century. See Goth.
Grotesque
Wildly or strangely formed; whimsical; extravagant; of irregular forms and proportions; fantastic; ludicrous; antic.
Gothic
A kind of square-cut type, with no hair lines.
Grotesque
A whimsical figure, or scene, such as is found in old crypts and grottoes.
Gothic
Extinct East Germanic language of the ancient Goths; the only surviving record being fragments of a 4th-century translation of the Bible by Bishop Ulfilas
Grotesque
Artificial grotto-work.
Gothic
A heavy typeface in use from 15th to 18th centuries
Grotesque
Art characterized by an incongruous mixture of parts of humans and animals interwoven with plants
Gothic
A style of architecture developed in northern France that spread throughout Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries; characterized by slender vertical piers and counterbalancing buttresses and by vaulting and pointed arches
Grotesque
Distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous;
Tales of grotesque serpents eight fathoms long that churned the seas
Twisted into monstrous shapes
Gothic
Characteristic of the style of type commonly used for printing German
Grotesque
Ludicrously odd;
Hamlet's assumed antic disposition
Fantastic Halloween costumes
A grotesque reflection in the mirror
Gothic
Of or relating to the language of the ancient Goths;
The Gothic Bible translation
Gothic
Of or relating to the Goths;
Gothic migrations
Gothic
As if belonging to the Middle Ages; old-fashioned and unenlightened;
A medieval attitude toward dating
Gothic
Characterized by gloom and mystery and the grotesque;
Gothic novels like `Frankenstein'
Share Your Discovery
Previous Comparison
Cheese vs. ButterNext Comparison
Crybaby vs. Whiner