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

• appalling
• atrocious
• awful
• dreadful
• frightful
• ghastly
• grisly
• hideous
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrid
• horrific
• horrifying
• lurid
• macabre
• monstrous
• nightmare
• nightmarish
• shocking
• terrible
• terrific

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

By recognizing Sweeney as the barber who once lived above her shop, relaying the news of his wife’s apparent suicide and putting a razor in his hand, Mrs. Lovett sets in motion events that will end with a pile of bodies — and a gruesome answer to her pie shop’s meat shortage. —Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024

Among all of its gruesome set pieces, culminating in Room 101 in the Ministry of Love, the novel’s most decisive act of torment is a simple glance in the mirror. —Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024

All signs point to a continued deceleration in prices after a gruesome two-year stretch for inflation, which has forced the Bank of England to intervene by bringing interest rates to generational highs. —Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024

As Miami Beach officials celebrate the end of a successful spring break season that featured smaller, calmer crowds and none of the gruesome shootings seen in recent years, the city is facing a lawsuit from a tourist who was shot by police during a chaotic spring break four years ago. —Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2024

Pro tip for everyone out there who may someday wander into the scene of a gruesome accident: Do not eat the victim. —Steve Dasilva / Jalopnik, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024

After Andy Willingham arrived at University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington, a chaplain told him that his daughter was on a ventilator and had gruesome injuries. —Antonio Planas, NBC News, 15 Mar. 2024

The results of that autopsy were inconclusive, but the gruesome events leading up to Wagner’s death were caught on jail video and have never been reported until now. —Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024

Haskell was arrested after the gruesome discovery, and during a search of his home, detectives discovered blood and evidence consistent with dismemberment, Deputy Dist. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024

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