1
as in gruesome
extremely disturbing or repellent
a ghastly murder that shocked even hard-bitten detectives
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
I'm afraid that there's been a ghastly misunderstanding
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in terrifying
causing fear
a ghastly crime that made local residents afraid to go out at night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of ghastly
From a certain perspective, the traps that Ibsen had laid for his characters were hilariously well made, and the one character who got the ghastly humor within the play itself was Hedda.
—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
There’s no ghastly passenger touchscreen, no dimwitted haptic touchpads and no infuriating AI assistant.
—
Alistair Charlton,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Car launches are generally ghastly events, and this was way down there with the most hideous… and perhaps gave a clue as to why VW struggles to match its huge European sales success in America.
—
New Atlas,
10 Apr. 2026
The ghastly kills are there — innards are spilled on floors, knives go through temples, heads stuck on pikes expel vomitous discharge — but there’s little of the preceding back-and-forth that made such scenes notable in the past and at least conceptually justified the grotesquerie.
—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ghastly
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
There’s no ghastly passenger touchscreen, no dimwitted haptic touchpads and no infuriating AI assistant.
—
Alistair Charlton,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Car launches are generally ghastly events, and this was way down there with the most hideous… and perhaps gave a clue as to why VW struggles to match its huge European sales success in America.
—
New Atlas,
10 Apr. 2026
The ghastly kills are there — innards are spilled on floors, knives go through temples, heads stuck on pikes expel vomitous discharge — but there’s little of the preceding back-and-forth that made such scenes notable in the past and at least conceptually justified the grotesquerie.
—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ghastly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ghastly
Adjective
-
The men escape, but their frantic exit leads them through the gruesome Terminus food-supply dungeon, where fresh corpses hang on meathooks.
-
With two gruesome losses, meanwhile, Tunisia — Netherlands’ foe Thursday at Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium — has been eliminated already and cannot advance to the knockout round, no matter the outcome in KC.
Adjective
-
Katherine Guaramaco described the experience as one of the most intense of her life.
-
The president highlighted the military operation in Iran that has proven deeply unpopular, and an immigration agenda that has provoked intense backlash.
Adjective
-
The full extent of the casualties and damage may not be clear for many hours, but reports and videos show extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure across the country as residents face a terrifying night in the streets.
-
Then the assailant turns to face the camera; but inside a hoodie, the face is no face, just a terrifying horror movie mask.
Adjective
-
What should have been a night of celebration and community reflection for Juneteenth was shattered by a horrific act of violence.
-
First of all, the suffering of the Iranian people has been horrific in the context of this unnecessary conflict.
Adjective
-
Housed in remote data centers whose energy-intensive maintenance perpetuates the changing environmental conditions that threaten Tuvalu’s existence, the attempt to redeposit territory digitally drives home the paradoxes, and costs, of storage.
-
Qatari mediators returned to the Iranian capital for 17 hours of what the diplomat described as intensive negotiations.
Adjective
-
Iran’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad World Cup got a lot better Sunday.
-
What started as a horrible mistake ended up bringing the community together.
Adjective
-
The 29-year-old began her comeback Saturday at the American Classic in Champlin, Minnesota, just days after announcing her shocking return to the sport.
-
Cape Verde earned three draws in the group stage – the shocking Spain result, running with Uruguay in the second match and ending up in a scoreless draw with Saudi Arabia in Houston on Friday.
Adjective
-
The production quality was terrible.
-
But in May of 1943, a terrible fire burned his studio to the ground.
Cite this Entry
“Ghastly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ghastly. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
