gruesome

adjective

grue·​some ˈgrü-səm 

variants or less commonly grewsome

: inspiring horror or repulsion : grisly

gruesome stories of wounded comrades

gruesomely adverb

gruesomeness noun

Synonyms of gruesome

• horrific
• shocking
• horrible
• nightmare
• horrifying
• terrible
• frightening
• terrific
• terrifying
• dreadful

Choose the Right Synonym for gruesome

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 gruesome in a Sentence

The police report described the scene in gruesome detail.

didn't stick around to hear the gruesome details of the car accident

Recent Examples on the Web

Travis, a Heisman finalist in his final season at Florida State, suffered a gruesome leg injury just before the postseason, which ended both his season, and ultimately his career. —Cole Sullivan, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

Jayden Daniels suffered a gruesome arm injury on Sunday too, which will knock him out for a few weeks and possibly longer. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 4 Nov. 2025

While there are dismemberments and other bits of gruesome violence to be found in the film, Badlands is largely aimed at endearing its audience rather than repulsing them. —Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2025

The medical records, incident reports, photographs, and e-mails, which were collected between late 2020 and the summer of 2023, detailed a succession of gruesome injuries and deaths. —Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier growsome, from English dialect grow, grue to shiver, from Middle English gruen, probably from Middle Dutch grūwen; akin to Old High German ingrūēn to shiver

First Known Use

circa 1700, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

gruesome

adjective

grue·​some ˈgrü-səm 

: causing horror or disgust : horrible

gruesomely adverb

gruesomeness noun