ghastly

adjective

ghast·​ly ˈgast-lē 

ghastlier; ghastliest

1

a

: terrifyingly horrible to the senses : frightening

a ghastly crime

b

: intensely unpleasant, disagreeable, or objectionable

such a life seems ghastly in its emptiness and sterility

—Aldous Huxley

2

: resembling a ghost

3

obsolete : filled with fear

4

: very great

a ghastly mistake

ghastliness noun

ghastly adverb

Synonyms

• appalling
• atrocious
• awful
• dreadful
• frightful
• grisly
• gruesome
• grewsome
• hideous
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrid
• horrific
• horrifying
• lurid
• macabre
• monstrous
• nightmare
• nightmarish
• shocking
• terrible
• terrific

Choose the Right Synonym for ghastly

ghastly, grisly, gruesome, macabre, lurid mean horrifying and repellent in appearance or aspect.

ghastly suggests the terrifying aspects of corpses and ghosts.

a ghastly accident

grisly and gruesome suggest additionally the results of extreme violence or cruelty.

an unusually grisly murder

suffered a gruesome death

macabre implies a morbid preoccupation with the physical aspects of death.

a macabre tale of premature burial

lurid adds to gruesome the suggestion of shuddering fascination with violent death and especially with murder.

the lurid details of a crime

Examples of ghastly in a Sentence

You're making a ghastly mistake.

His room was a ghastly mess.

Recent Examples on the Web

Daryl tracked them to a quaint farmhouse with a ghastly walkway lined with guard walkers. —Charlie Mason, TVLine, 20 Oct. 2024

Ken Page, the Broadway veteran who provided the voice of the ghastly villain Oogie Boogie in the Tim Burton-produced The Nightmare Before Christmas, died Monday at his home in St. Louis, his reps said. —Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Oct. 2024

The ghastliest days in prison are the birthdays of close family, especially children. —Alexei Navalny, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024

Was this ghastly outcome for the Palestinians and Israel worth corrupting the rule of law in our own society? —Seyward Darby, Longreads, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gastly, from gasten to terrify — more at gast

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

ghastly

adjective

ghast·​ly ˈgast-lē 

ghastlier; ghastliest

1

a

: horrible sense 1, shocking

a ghastly crime

b

: very unpleasant, disagreeable, or objectionable

2

: resembling a ghost

a ghastly face

ghastliness noun

ghastly adverb