Gro*tesque" (gr&osl;*t&ebreve;sk"), a. [F., fr. It. grottesco, fr. grotta grotto. See Grotto.] Like the figures found in ancient grottoes; grottolike; wildly or strangely formed; whimsical; extravagant; of irregular forms and proportions; fantastic; ludicrous; antic. "Grotesque design." Dryden. "Grotesque incidents." Macaulay.

Gro*tesque, n. 1. A whimsical figure, or scene, such as is found in old crypts and grottoes. Dryden.

2. Artificial grotto-work.

• disgusting or otherwise viscerally reviling
  
• bizarre or fantastic in appearance
  
• a style of ornamentation characterized by fanciful combinations of intertwined forms
  
• anything grotesque