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

Give the filmmakers props for shooting much of this in-camera rather than CGI, and also for the realistic grisly performance of the actor in the all-purpose monkey suit, Miguel Torres Umba. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026

Braddy was convicted and sentenced to death at his trial nine years after the grisly crime. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2026

Whoever gunned down a young dentist and his wife is still on the loose a week after the grisly killings. —Holly Yan, CNN Money, 6 Jan. 2026

Officers were called to the couple’s home in the eastern Allentown suburb on Friday night after one of Johnson and Rice’s children walked in and spotted the grisly scene, according to the Morning Call. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 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