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ghoulish

adjective

Definition of ghoulishnext
as in ghostly

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ghoulish But my deepest, most ghoulish questions, no investigation could answer. — Literary Hub, 10 June 2026 The fear and horror is handled dramatically without becoming grisly or ghoulish. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 2 June 2026 Concept art for Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake shows the street party will include familiar Haunted Mansion characters like the cemetery caretaker, grave diggers, ballroom dancers and a few ghoulish ghosts. — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 2 June 2026 The ghoulish gathering is intended for attendees 17 and older. — Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for ghoulish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ghoulish
  1. ghostly
  2. spectral
  3. ghastly
  4. eerie
  5. spooky
  6. haunting
  7. creepy
  8. ghostlike
Adjective
  • Lisa Robertson’s Riverwork draws on all these influences, and many more, to evoke overlapping Parises that chime with one another like a ghostly carillon.
    — Ange Mlinko, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The street, still full of equipment and plastic water bottles, felt quiet and ghostly.
    — Sarah Shanfield, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of ghostly
Adjective
  • The stairwell of the North Tower, or the five charred, spectral stories still standing, was being targeted for potential recoveries, and for good reason.
    — Peter Wilkinson, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The design uses spectral beam combining, which merges several fiber-laser beams into a single high-power output.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of spectral
Adjective
  • Does the movie go too easy on the man who eventually gave us Fox News and decades of ghastly politics?
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Wilson was a ghastly 6 of 21 from the free-throw line and led all summer leaguers in turnovers despite only playing 110 minutes.
    — John Hollinger, New York Times, 22 July 2026
Definition of ghastly
Adjective
  • An eerie silence, empty halls and security guards marked the end, at least for now, of a once-vibrant public space.
    — Grey Battle, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Below, explore 11 cities reclaimed by nature and the eerie beauty left behind when the earth reclaims what was only momentarily ours.
    — Charlotte Collins, Architectural Digest, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of eerie
Adjective
  • The 20th century in particular abounded in such visions, some of which—The Handmaid’s Tale, or Brave New World, published in 1932 and getting spookier every day—have proved more prophetic than others.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz and the Deetz family offer a slightly spookier option for families looking beyond traditional matching costumes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of spooky
Adjective
  • These numbers are especially haunting because the movement was never only about women.
    — Pegah Banihashemi, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
  • However, the area is not going to have a haunting vibe, per Spyropoulos.
    — Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of haunting
Adjective
  • Get to the creepy hospital’s 48th floor, where a laboratory may be able to fashion a cure for this viral outbreak turning people into the walking, running, jumping, chomping dead.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Disembodied hands lurk in the shadows, furniture seems to move on its own, and creepy figures pop out from unexpected hiding spots in the set (designed by Reck, Connor Hopkins, Zac Crofford and Rael).
    — Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of creepy
Adjective
  • Diners have toasted to him ever since, trading stories of feeling ghostlike brushes along their legs during Lowcountry meals.
    — Chelsea Brasted, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
Definition of ghostlike

Browse Nearby Words

ghoulies
ghoulish
ghoulishness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ghoulish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ghoulish. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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