gorgon.

1. A monster of Greek myth associated with a gaze that turns onlookers to stone, commonly represented with snakes for hair.

2. A derogatory name for a person represented as frightening, forbidding, or repellent.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a gorgon’s gaze
• a stone carving of a gorgon

On the page

The shield showed a gorgon whose carved snakes curled into the border.

The tale let its gorgon watch the doorway through the polished metal.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror. Forms: Singular gorgon; plural gorgons. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.