grisly

adjective

gris·​ly ˈgriz-lē 

grislier; grisliest

1

: inspiring horror or intense fear

houses that were dark and grisly under the blank, cold sky

—D. H. Lawrence

2

: inspiring disgust or distaste

a grisly account of the fire

grisliness noun

Did you know?

An angry grizzly bear could certainly inspire fear, so grizzly and grisly must be related, right? Grizzly comes from the Middle English adjective grisel, meaning "gray." Like its close relative grizzled, grizzly means "sprinkled or streaked with gray." In other words, the grizzly bear got its name because the hairs of its brownish to buff coat usually have silver or pale tips, creating a grizzled effect, not because it causes terror. Grisly is related to Old English grislic, which comes from a verb meaning "to fear" and which gives grisly its "terrifying" sense.

Synonyms

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

Choose the Right Synonym for grisly

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 grisly in a Sentence

The jurors saw grisly photos of the crime scene.

the police report described the murder scene in grisly detail

Recent Examples on the Web

Reacher points out their entire ruse will be blown if Angel sees the Audi minus any grisly evidence of a man having been exploded in the driver’s seat. —Chris Klimek, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025

As People previously reported, the grisly crime began to unfold at 11:55 a.m. on Nov. 30, 2023, when the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a naked man walking through the Swan Valley General Store in Swan Lake, police said in a press release at the time. —Kc Baker, People.com, 18 Feb. 2025

The searcher made the grisly discovery around 5 p.m. Feb. 12 near Buffalo Bayou in Houston, according to a news release. —Rhiannon Saegert, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2025

The grisly discovery was made on Feb. 5 at approximately 5:30 p.m. when the NYPD Harbor Unit discovered the remains near Governor’s Island, police said. —Jon Haworth, ABC News, 13 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English grislic, from gris- (akin to Old English āgrīsan to fear); akin to Old High German grīsenlīh terrible

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for grisly

• grizzly

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Kids Definition

grisly

adjective

gris·​ly ˈgriz-lē 

grislier; grisliest

: horrible, gruesome

a grisly description of the fire

grisliness noun