gruesome

adjective

grue·​some ˈgrü-səm 

variants or less commonly grewsome

: inspiring horror or repulsion : grisly

gruesome stories of wounded comrades

gruesomely adverb

gruesomeness noun

Synonyms

• horrific
• horrible
• shocking
• terrible
• awful
• frightening

Choose the Right Synonym for gruesome

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 gruesome in a Sentence

The police report described the scene in gruesome detail.

didn't stick around to hear the gruesome details of the car accident

Recent Examples on the Web

Accounts of government and police repression have only gotten more gruesome, with Amnesty Kenya reporting that 16 people have been shot and killed as of June 28 and local officials claiming that hundreds have been injured (while also alleging that most of those hurt were police officers). —Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025

Forget turning on some gruesome horror movie: reading the daily headlines is enough to make just about anyone scream. —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 26 June 2025

With Oswaldo Cabrera suffering a gruesome leg injury earlier in the season, manager Aaron Boone's been left with few options across the infield. —Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025

An Egyptian national who came into the country two years ago and overstayed his visa has been charged in the gruesome terror attack that left eight people injured in Boulder, Colorado, Sunday, authorities said. —Alexandra Koch , Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier growsome, from English dialect grow, grue to shiver, from Middle English gruen, probably from Middle Dutch grūwen; akin to Old High German ingrūēn to shiver

First Known Use

circa 1700, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

gruesome

adjective

grue·​some ˈgrü-səm 

: causing horror or disgust : horrible

gruesomely adverb

gruesomeness noun