ghoulish

adjective

ghoul·​ish ˈgü-lish 

1

: resembling, suggesting, or appropriate to a ghoul

a ghoulish appearance

I knew not at what moment I might plunge headlong into some terrible pit or meet with some of the ghoulish creatures that inhabit these lower worlds …

—Edgar Rice Burroughs

Many of their sculptures depict the ghoulish spirits … and their paternal leader, Baron Samedi, the lord of death, decay and grotesque eroticism.

—Holland Cotter

2

: relating to, dealing with, or morbidly delighting in things considered shocking or gruesome

ghoulish thoughts

ghoulish humor

… the grieving family asked for his help in a rather ghoulish affair.

—Behn Cervantes

… his photographs present the aftermath of battles somewhat in the manner of ghoulish still lifes …

—Naomi Rosenblum

Annie was a fine, strapping girl, and was evidently labouring under intense excitement, mingled with a certain ghoulish enjoyment of the tragedy.

—Agatha Christie

… he offers the reader a deliciously ghoulish potted history of absurd burial techniques.

—Lawrence Osborne

ghoulishly adverb

laughing ghoulishly

Lurid, violent, … morbidly sentimental and ghoulishly capricious, this is the kind of painting which grabs the modern imagination for the most dubious of reasons.

—Jonathan Keates

ghoulishness noun

… a zany cross between wild farce and macabre ghoulishness …

—John Percival

Examples of ghoulish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These boxes are filled with different foods that might be mistaken for something ghoulish: peeled grapes as a mummy’s eyeballs or cooked spaghetti as a monster’s brains. —Drew Gerber, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Bleeding tooth fungus looks like a ghoulish forest crime scene. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 31 Oct. 2024

People gave fans a first glimpse of Clarkson's dramatic makeover, showcasing her decked out in the iconic character's ghoulish style, right down to the rotten teeth and dark, circled eyes. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024

Consuelos joined the crowd by sporting Beetlejuice's most famous look complete with ghoulish makeup and green hair, but Ripa opted for Lydia's red wedding dress over the character's standard black ensemble. —Sabienna Bowman, People.com, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined at sense 1