ghoulishness

noun

as in ghostliness

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 ghoulishness To emphasize the ghoulishness, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki shoots the president and his advisors in unflattering low angles with a formaldehyde sheen. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026 And Art the Clown’s mime-of-mayhem harlequin ghoulishness is part of the extremity. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ghoulishness
  1. creepiness
  2. eeriness
  3. scariness
  4. fearfulness
  5. hatefulness
Noun
  • Altman’s physicality, vocal intonations and general creepiness are on full display channeled through Garfield for a man who simply should not be trusted or taken for his word.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Fresh Air critic John Powers describes it as a unique blend of creepiness, sarcastic humor and political anger, unlike anything else on TV.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of creepiness
Noun
  • The rooms at the hotel were haunted, Reinsve says, in a tone of such eeriness that any shadow of doubt on my part was wiped from my face.
    — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Hunter’s Moon arriving just in time to add a little extra eeriness to spooky season.
    — Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of eeriness
Noun
  • There’s ample gore and jumpy moments, but the true scariness here is of the forlorn kind; leads Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen play the mounting nightmare with ache and desperation, elevating the emotional tenor of a dolefully eerie movie.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 31 Jan. 2026
  • In Howard Schwartz’s version of Rabbinic folktales, the images and storylines of Jewish folklore become colorful, polymorphic, and wondrous while never losing an aura of ancient scariness.
    — Jon Raymond August 5, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
Definition of scariness
Noun
  • There’s a delicacy to Sebastián, a hushed fearfulness, that sets him apart from his new comrades.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of fearfulness
Noun
  • Trump’s narcissistic obsession with the place, together with the miasmic hatefulness of his words and actions, has caused artists to flee en masse.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Comment sections have always attracted hatefulness and resentment; these ones just happen to encourage it more explicitly.
    — Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2025
Definition of hatefulness

Browse Nearby Words

ghoulish
ghoulishness
ghouls
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ghoulishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ghoulishness. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All