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 The grisly incident encapsulates much of the horror of the moment in Gaza, a territory that has been pulverized by the Israeli military campaign that followed Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 strike on southern Israel. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 Such is the pallor of grisly discoveries in Northern Ireland. Ali Watkins, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 The Post last year examined the grisly legacy of Ales Hrdlicka, who led the physical anthropology department at the U.S. National Museum, the precursor to the Natural History Museum, for most of the first half of the 20th century. Claire Healy, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024 View More There are exceptions, of course; Freaky Friday (1976), which Foster made just after Martin Scorsese’s grisly Taxi Driver, was a family-friendly romp. Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2024 Locke plays Tobias Ragg, the young apprentice to a phony barber, who is eventually taken in by the owner of a local pie shop, Mrs. Lovett, and involved in a grisly plot. Alex Jhamb Burns, Vogue, 16 Feb. 2024 The Pennsylvania man accused of decapitating his father legally purchased a firearm one day before the grisly slaying, officials said Friday. David K. Li, NBC News, 2 Feb. 2024 Despite its grisly reputation, the horror genre is every bit as malleable as comedy or drama. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2023 Two years before the grisly discovery, Baumeister’s 13-year-old son found a human skull on the property, according to 1996 reporting by PEOPLE, and the teen showed his mother, Julie Baumeister. Corin Cesaric, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2024

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

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 19 Mar. 2024.

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

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