1
as in gruesome
extremely disturbing or repellent
a ghastly murder that shocked even hard-bitten detectives
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Reducing Zarutska’s cruel and untimely death to racist memes also erases the role that mental health — something that Republicans are happy to bring up whenever a white mass shooter guns down Americans in cold blood — likely played in the ghastly crime.
—
Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
Behind one of these homes a ghastly discovery has recently been made and is now being unearthed.
—Greg Dixon, NPR, 25 Aug. 2025
Last year, Arias had a 111 wRC+ with a ghastly 31 percent strikeout rate.
—Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
The horror short follows a young woman who makes a ghastly deal with a witch in exchange for her problematic boyfriend.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ghastly
Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
Behind one of these homes a ghastly discovery has recently been made and is now being unearthed.
—Greg Dixon, NPR, 25 Aug. 2025
Last year, Arias had a 111 wRC+ with a ghastly 31 percent strikeout rate.
—Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
The horror short follows a young woman who makes a ghastly deal with a witch in exchange for her problematic boyfriend.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ghastly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ghastly
Adjective
-
Gein committed many gruesome crimes, but cannibalism was not one of them.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
-
But one photo, far less gruesome, has been gnawing at me for weeks.—
Ruth Margalit,
New Yorker,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
During periods of intense rainfall, the risk of flooding increases, particularly in low-lying and flood-prone areas.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Safdie perceptively locates the protagonist’s troubling inner contradictions—the atavistic fury that drives him to compete and the intense self-control that competition demands—but dramatizes such outer crises as opioid addiction and conflict with his girlfriend (Emily Blunt) only schematically.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The device sounded terrifying – an apparently new, nuclear capable IRBM, fired with multiple conventional warheads, that the Kremlin boasted could rip through European defenses.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
-
He’s supposed to be a terrifying mirror to our discontent.—
Emily Temple
September 30,
Literary Hub,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Those bots have attracted lawsuits in horrific instances where users lost their grip on reality or took their own lives after interacting with them.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Many of the base’s survivors have similarly described the singularly horrific nature of those 45 square miles in eastern Cuba.—
Miriam Pensack,
The Dial,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Over the next three days, Stafford and Hanton will lead you through an intensive, interactive bushcraft school.—
Mark Ellwood,
Robb Report,
5 Oct. 2025
-
In India, the government has begun pushing to decarbonize the iron and steel sector, one of the world’s most emissions-intensive industries, driven as much by resource and pollution pressures as by diplomacy.—
Felicia Jackson,
Forbes.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Miami could choose to move on from the star receiver due to the horrible season-ending injury.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Many of the game’s best teams spent the regular season alternating between brilliant and horrible.—
Levi Weaver,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
That’s the most shocking thing.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
-
As if that wasn’t enough motivation, the Horned Frogs (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) will face Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes (2-3, 0-2) for the first time since Sanders led the Buffs to a shocking 45-42 upset in Fort Worth to open the 2023 season.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
That's a terrible average to bet your life on.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
-
When his estranged daughter Sam tracks him down, in a last-ditch effort to dig her way out of serious trouble, Mickey must choose between rekindling his relationship with his daughter in the face of a terrible tragedy or pursuing a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ghastly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ghastly. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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