gorier; goriest
1
: covered with gore : bloodstained
2
: bloodcurdling, sensational
wanted to hear the gory details
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 But Spielberg won that war pretty decisively in ‘81 with the goriest of mic drops. A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 3 July 2023 Nasty, brutish and snort-filled, ‘Cocaine Bear’ provides an extremely gory and amusingly speculative answer. Mark Olsenstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2023 The new teaser trailer shows the hilarious and occasionally gory lives of students at the superheroes-only school, Godolkin University. Sophia Scorziello, Variety, 24 July 2023 His kills only get gorier going from Terrifier to Terrifier 2. Stacey Grant, Seventeen, 19 July 2023 This pumpkin look is ideal for those who prefer to stay away from gory Halloween decor. Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, 20 June 2023 But even with the lack of bombshells, the content of the reunion was also captivatingly gory enough. Emily Yahr, Washington Post, 8 June 2023 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s ‘Chain-Gang All-Stars’ is one of the year’s goriest novels. Chicago Tribune Staff, Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2023 Column: Why has the HBO name disappeared from the HBO Max streaming platform? ‘Chain-Gang All-Stars’ is one of the year’s goriest novels. Ariel Cheung, Chicago Tribune, 25 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of gory was in the 15th century

Cite this Entry

“Gory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gory. Accessed 28 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

gory

adjective
ˈgō(ə)r-ē How to pronounce gory (audio)
ˈgȯ(ə)r-
gorier; goriest
1
: covered with gore : bloodstained
2

More from Merriam-Webster on gory

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