grisly

adjective

gris·​ly ˈgriz-lē 

grislier; grisliest

1

: inspiring horror or intense fear

grisly tales of murder

… houses that were dark and grisly under the blank, cold sky …

—D. H. Lawrence

2

: inspiring disgust or distaste

a grisly account of the fire

grisliness noun

Did you know?

An angry grizzly bear could certainly inspire fear, so grizzly and grisly must be related, right? Grizzly comes from the Middle English adjective grisel, meaning "gray." Like its close relative grizzled, grizzly means "sprinkled or streaked with gray." In other words, the grizzly bear got its name because the hairs of its brownish to buff coat usually have silver or pale tips, creating a grizzled effect, not because it causes terror. Grisly is related to Old English grislic, which comes from a verb meaning "to fear" and which gives grisly its "terrifying" sense.

Synonyms of grisly

• gruesome
• horrific
• shocking

Choose the Right Synonym for grisly

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 grisly in a Sentence

The jurors saw grisly photos of the crime scene.

the police report described the murder scene in grisly detail

Recent Examples on the Web

Questions about the singer’s connection to Hernandez’s grisly end have swirled since last summer, ever since her badly decomposed and dismembered body was found in the trunk of a Tesla linked to Burke. —James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026

When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. —Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 7 May 2026

In his own statement, Steinfeld said Celeste’s parents, brother, and sister were left devastated by the flood of grisly details revealed by prosecutors in a court filing Wednesday. —Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 1 May 2026

The autopsies of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner have not yet been completed, stalling the criminal case against their son Nick, who is charged in the couple’s grisly December 2025 deaths. —Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English grislic, from gris- (akin to Old English āgrīsan to fear); akin to Old High German grīsenlīh terrible

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for grisly

• grizzly

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Kids Definition

grisly

adjective

gris·​ly ˈgriz-lē 

grislier; grisliest

: horrible, gruesome

a grisly description of the fire

grisliness noun