Thesaurus

ghastly

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of ghastly

1 extremely disturbing or repellent

a ghastly murder that shocked even hard-bitten detectives

Synonyms of ghastly

appalling, atrocious, awful, dreadful, frightful, grisly, gruesome (also grewsome), hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, horrifying, lurid, macabre, monstrous, nightmare, nightmarish, shocking, terrible, terrific

Words Related to ghastly

alarming, bloodcurdling, dire, direful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightening, gut-wrenching, hair-raising, heart-stopping, intimidating, redoubtable, scary, terrifying

abhorrent, deplorable, disagreeable, disgusting, distasteful, loathsome, nauseating, noisome, obnoxious, obscene, offensive, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, sickening

abominable, evil, foul, heinous, noxious, odious, unspeakable, vile

grotesque, ugly, unsightly

Near Antonyms of ghastly

agreeable, appealing, attractive, delectable, delicious, delightful, enjoyable, enticing, inviting, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, welcome

cheering, comforting, soothing

2 extreme in degree, power, or effect

I'm afraid that there's been a ghastly misunderstanding

Synonyms of ghastly

acute, almighty, blistering, deep, dreadful, excruciating, explosive, exquisite, fearful, fearsome, ferocious, fierce, frightful, furious, hard, heavy, heavy-duty, hellacious, intense, intensive, keen, profound, terrible, vehement, vicious, violent

Words Related to ghastly

accentuated, aggravated, concentrated, deepened

emphasized, enhanced, heightened, intensified, magnified

exhaustive, thorough

harsh, rigorous, severe

Near Antonyms of ghastly

shallow, superficial

moderated, qualified

alleviated, eased, lightened, toned (down)

abated, decreased, diminished, lessened, reduced, subdued

Antonyms of ghastly

light, moderate, soft

3 causing fear

a ghastly crime that made local residents afraid to go out at night

Synonyms of ghastly

alarming, dire, direful, dread, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightening, frightful, hair-raising, horrendous, horrible, horrifying, intimidating, redoubtable, scary, shocking, spine-chilling, terrible, terrifying

Words Related to ghastly

daunting, demoralizing, disconcerting, discouraging, dismaying, disquieting, distressing, disturbing, perturbing, startling, threatening, troubling, trying, unnerving

bone-chilling, creepy, eerie (also eery), weird

appalling, atrocious, awful, grisly, gruesome (also grewsome), hideous, horrid, macabre, monstrous, nightmarish

Near Antonyms of ghastly

calming, comforting, consoling, inviting, lulling, pacifying, quieting, reassuring, relaxing, soothing, tranquilizing (also tranquillizing)

nonintimidating, nonthreatening

Synonym Discussion of ghastly

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

Learn More about ghastly

See words that rhyme with ghastly Dictionary: Definition of ghastly Spanish Central: Translation of ghastly Nglish: Translation of ghastly for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ghastly for Arabic speakers

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