noun
ogre
OH-guh
noun
1
A large, ugly, monstrous creature in folklore, known for its brutish strength and appetite for humans.
"In the story, a hungry ogre guards the bridge into the village."
2
A cruel or frightening person.
"Her boss had a reputation as an ogre who never praised anyone."
How to Use Ogre
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA monstrous fairy-tale giant, or, informally, a cruel and scary person.
Common pairings
a fearsome ogre
act like an ogre
Word Forms
ogres plural
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In the story, a hungry _____ guards the bridge into the village.
Etymology
Borrowed into English from French ogre, ultimately from Latin Orcus, the Roman god of the underworld and punisher of broken oaths.