grisly

adjective

gris·ly ˈgriz-lē

grislier; grisliest

Synonyms of grisly next

: inspiring horror or intense fear

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

D. H. Lawrence

: 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.

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Moreover, giant hornets are known for their grisly methods for bee murder—unfortunate beekeepers have found their hives filled with bee carcasses, the heads ripped from their bodies. —

Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Dec. 2024 Officers made the grisly discovery Tuesday afternoon inside a residence on Oxford Way in West Valley City, located about 9 miles outside of Salt Lake City. —

Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 18 Dec. 2024 Researchers studying a Bronze Age gravesite in southwest England made a grisly discovery involving a massacre and possible cannibalism. —

Natasha Frost, New York Times, 18 Dec. 2024 The third Galston triplet, who asked not to be named to protect her privacy, worries that the grisly circumstances of the murders of her beloved sisters have overshadowed their short lives. —

Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for grisly