1
as in gruesome
extremely disturbing or repellent
a ghastly murder that shocked even hard-bitten detectives
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
I'm afraid that there's been a ghastly misunderstanding
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in terrifying
causing fear
a ghastly crime that made local residents afraid to go out at night
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ghastly
Maye had three turnovers in Super Bowl 60, including a ghastly, unforced interception that snuffed a semi-decent comeback chance.
—
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
And Petitti, presumably with the backing of his schools, favored a ghastly 24-team model that would have fundamentally altered the regular season.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026
Not as some awful sort of ghastly skeleton with a scythe in its hand coming to chop us off.
—Terry Gross, NPR, 15 Jan. 2026
In the nineties, ghastly revelations about the mining conditions in countries such as Sierra Leone, shed harsh light on the back end of the business.
—Emilia Petrarca, New Yorker, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ghastly
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
And Petitti, presumably with the backing of his schools, favored a ghastly 24-team model that would have fundamentally altered the regular season.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026
Not as some awful sort of ghastly skeleton with a scythe in its hand coming to chop us off.
—Terry Gross, NPR, 15 Jan. 2026
In the nineties, ghastly revelations about the mining conditions in countries such as Sierra Leone, shed harsh light on the back end of the business.
—Emilia Petrarca, New Yorker, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ghastly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ghastly
Adjective
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Biden administration failed victims by not seeking the death penalty in many violent and gruesome cases.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
24 Apr. 2026
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Like Richards, many people also invite the public into the somewhat gruesome medical process.—
Rheana Murray,
The Atlantic,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The area that would bear the president’s name has been subject to some of the most intense fighting of the modern age, with tens of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed in the Donbas over the past few years.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Apr. 2026
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What keeps it from feeling too intense or drying for combination skin is the cushion of tea tree leaf water, which helps calm inflammation.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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This isn’t the terrifying Frost of modernist criticism—although the poem is fully aware of darkness, and its world, on the cusp of World War I, like ours, certainly had its terrors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Apr. 2026
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Most prior visits had morphed into extended trips into a terrifying medical underworld — to a purgatory known as emergency department boarding.—
Elisabeth Rosenthal,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The charges revealed key details and were among the first concrete public moves made in a grisly and horrific case that had been under a largely secret investigation in the seven months since the body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found.—
Andrew Dalton,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
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On Thursday, another horrific crime rattled the city —15-year-old Jaden Pierre was beaten and fatally shot at point-blank range in a Queens playground.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Data centers also have sharp demand spikes driven by computing-intensive tasks, such as training models.—
Mark Chediak,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
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Tilson Thomas’ New World Symphony, an ensemble and intensive three-year fellowship program for music school graduates to hone their craft, and its home at the New World Center in Miami Beach, are considered to be crown jewels in the Miami area’s art scene.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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On that horrible day, Dad was outside his vehicle supervising a ditch cleaning operation when a driver ignored traffic control devices, drove through a closed lane, and struck him, pinning him between two vehicles.—
Allysson Bornt,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
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And every family has that annoying uncle that makes horrible jokes or one situation after another.—
Lexi Lane,
PEOPLE,
18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In the furthest part of space lies Dante 01, a detention facility that houses criminals who have committed the most shocking crimes imaginable.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
25 Apr. 2026
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Their latest documentary series looks set to continue that streak, exploring a shocking real case of love, betrayal, and justice.—
Fleurine Tideman,
Glamour,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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If anything, great public pressure being brought to bear is a terrible reason to dispense with due-process protections designed to protect the legal rights of individuals, and crafting one exception would seem to create a precedent for crafting others.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
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Some members of Congress, along with airline CEOs and analysts, say the bailout would be a terrible idea.—
Donald Judd,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ghastly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ghastly. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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