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

: very great

a ghastly mistake

4

obsolete : filled with fear

ghastliness noun

ghastly adverb

Synonyms of ghastly

• gruesome
• horrific
• shocking
• horrible
• nightmare
• terrible

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

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

In the two seasons before Motta’s return, the Mavericks were a ghastly 24-140 under Richie Adubato and Quinn Buckner. —Brad Townsend, Dallas Morning News, 26 Feb. 2026

Maye had three turnovers in Super Bowl 60, including a ghastly, unforced interception that snuffed a semi-decent comeback chance. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026

And Petitti, presumably with the backing of his schools, favored a ghastly 24-team model that would have fundamentally altered the regular season. —Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026

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

Rhymes for ghastly

• lastly
• vastly
• steadfastly

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