gory

adjective

ˈgȯr-ē 

gorier; goriest

1

: covered with gore : bloodstained

2

: bloodcurdling, sensational

wanted to hear the gory details

Synonyms of gory

• bloody
• red

Choose the Right Synonym for gory

bloody, sanguinary, gory mean affected by or involving the shedding of blood.

bloody is applied especially to things that are actually covered with blood or are made up of blood.

bloody hands

sanguinary applies especially to something attended by, or someone inclined to, bloodshed.

the Civil War was America's most sanguinary conflict

gory suggests a profusion of blood and slaughter.

exceptionally gory, even for a horror movie

Examples of gory in a Sentence

doesn't watch too many movies that feature gory violence

Recent Examples on the Web

The famous scene where Rosemary finally meets her baby in Roman Polanski’s occult chiller becomes a gory feature-length folk tale in Hanna Bergholm’s follow-up to the vastly more surrealist body horror Hatching. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 18 Feb. 2026

Cathy has a miscarriage (a very bloody, gory image from Fennell) and dies from sepsis. —Meg Walters, Glamour, 16 Feb. 2026

The gory horror flick reportedly cost $3 million to make and is projected to snag another $6 million this weekend. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026

There’s one splashingly gory sequence, when Maria (Matilda De Angelis), Dracula’s first disciple, goes demon and gets decapitated and staked-through-the-heart. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing gory

• gory details
• in gory detail

Rhymes for gory

• corrie
• corry
• cory
• dory
• flory
• glory
• hoary
• horry
• kauri
• lori
• lorry
• lory

Kids Definition

gory

adjective

ˈgō(ə)r-ē 

ˈgȯ(ə)r-

gorier; goriest

1

: covered with gore : bloodstained

2

: bloodcurdling