Frankenstein
Americannoun
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a person who creates a monster or a destructive agency that cannot be controlled or that brings about the creator's ruin.
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Also called Frankenstein monster. the monster or destructive agency itself.
noun
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a person who creates something that brings about his ruin
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Also called: Frankenstein's monster. a thing that destroys its creator
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Frequently the subject of horror films, the monster is usually pictured with an oversized square brow, metal bolts in his neck and forehead, and greenish skin. People often mistakenly refer to the monster, rather than to his creator, as “Frankenstein.”
Other Word Forms
- Frankensteinian adjective
Etymology
Origin of Frankenstein
First recorded in 1830–40; after a character in Mary Shelley's novel of the same name (1818)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Then there’s “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley, taking possession of another person’s body and voice.
From Los Angeles Times
Curiously, this was not a prevailing gripe about “Frankenstein,” despite del Toro changing the ending, altering the inciting events of the Creature’s creation and adding new characters while changing the textual behavior of key others.
From Salon
One Battle After Another won the most awards with six, followed by I Swear, Sinners and Frankenstein, which got three each, while Hamnet won two.
From BBC
The ambitious gothic Netflix film featured an Arctic explorer ship frozen on the ice, and Frankenstein's horror lab on top of a Victorian water tower.
From BBC
The death was confirmed by Fred Dekker, director of “The Monster Squad,” who wrote on Facebook, “Tom’s indelible performance as Frankenstein ... is a highlight of my modest filmography.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
