grisly

adjective

gris·​ly ˈgriz-lē How to pronounce grisly (audio)
grislier; grisliest
1
: inspiring horror or intense fear
houses that were dark and grisly under the blank, cold skyD. 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.

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Anyone with an aversion to physical and mental torture will likely find Dangerous Animals a repulsive turnoff, but others with a taste for grisly violence should find something juicy to chomp on. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2025 The vision allows Iris to escape her grisly fate and save everyone around her. Beatrice Loayza, New York Times, 15 May 2025 Over three episodes, recently discovered recordings of Fred’s interviews with police make an already grisly story even more lurid. Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 14 May 2025 Maybe not the actual people, who are usually sunny and chipper in contrast to their grisly work, but certainly the actual act of being worked on by one of them. Dave Schilling, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for grisly

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

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of grisly was in the 12th century

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Cite this Entry

“Grisly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grisly. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

grisly

adjective
gris·​ly ˈgriz-lē How to pronounce grisly (audio)
grislier; grisliest
: horrible, gruesome
a grisly description of the fire
grisliness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on grisly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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