ghastly

adjective ghast·ly \ ˈgast-lē \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of ghastly

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

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ghastliness

noun

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ghastly

adverb

See ghastly defined for English-language learners

See ghastly defined for kids

Examples of ghastly in a Sentence

You're making a ghastly mistake.
His room was a ghastly mess.

Recent Examples of ghastly from the Web

Blackness is not the equivalent of smearing oneself with bronzer and wearing a ghastly wig.

— candace mcduffie, Glamour, "Luann de Lesseps's Apology for Her Diana Ross Costume on 'RHONY' Just Doesn't Cut It," 5 Apr. 2018
But Russia, Turkey and Iran meet without the contribution of a reasonably important factor in this ghastly experiment in human cruelty: Syrians.

— nick paton walsh, CNN, "The Russia-Turkey-Iran solution for Syria leaves key issues unresolved," 3 Apr. 2018
Based on three of 10 episodes, the series is flashy, intermittently entertaining and ephemeral — a ghastly event turned into a jazzy satire.

— mike hale, New York Times, "Review: ‘Trust’ Is Flashy but Ephemeral," 22 Mar. 2018
The promise of a new RFP was strategic, Pastore suspects, a gambit to discourage the work-making Friends while preserving the stress-free status quo that has turned Presidio into a ghastly ghost course.

— logan jenkins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "City stymies effort to restore Presidio Hills — for now," 22 Mar. 2018
There was recently a ghastly portrait done here [in England] of the Duchess of Cambridge.

— adam rathe, Town & Country, "How the Year's Most Beautiful Book Was Written," 19 Mar. 2018
Employing some 300 people, mostly children in ghastly conditions, the mill was not large by modern standards.

— The Economist, "When giants ruled the worldAn insightful history of giant factories," 1 Mar. 2018
With Michigan State as the lone ghastly exception, sports have so far proven remarkably resistant to the #MeToo moment.

— nathaniel friedman, GQ, "The Dallas Mavericks and the NBA’s First #MeToo Moment," 27 Feb. 2018
The ghastly stretch on Sunday came when Van Gundy inserted a backcourt of Jameer Nelson and Langston Galloway with the Pistons trailing by six with 2:44 remaining in the first quarter.

— vince ellis, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Pistons, Stan Van Gundy desperately seeking answers from bench," 25 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ghastly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ghastly

Middle English gastly, from gasten to terrify — more at gast

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First Known Use: 14th century

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ghastly Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of ghastly

ghastly, grisly, gruesome, macabre, lurid mean horrifying and repellent in appearance or aspect. ghastly suggests the terrifying aspects of corpses and ghosts.