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

Motz, a forensic psychotherapist, presents the stories of ten patients, managing the conflict between her feminist beliefs and the ghastly facts of the women’s crimes. —The New Yorker, 12 June 2024

General Motors' troubled robotaxi service Cruise on Feb. 6 endured a public lashing from a California judge who compared the company to the devious TV character Eddie Haskell for its behavior following a ghastly collision that wrecked its ambitious expansion plans. —Michael Liedtke, Detroit Free Press, 11 Feb. 2024

For policymakers in Canberra, the prospect of the former president’s return to power in 2024 is ghastly. —Michael Fullilove, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2022

Yet where is their deep dive into the root cause analysis of this ghastly behavior in the first place? —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 22 Mar. 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