as in demons
an evil spirit
in Arabic folklore, ghouls could change their shapes but had one unchanging feature: donkey's hooves for feet
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Recent Examples of ghouls
Kids can trick-or-treat at Calico Ghost Town shops and businesses before the sun falls and ghouls fill the park.
—
Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 29 Dec. 2025
No disrespect to Purnell, who perfectly calibrated Lucy’s intrinsic hopefulness in the first season and slowly begins to curdle it this go-round as Lucy spends more time among ghouls, raiders, cannibals, and various other feuding factions.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
For centuries, a peace treaty between humans and the Black World — which houses all manner of witches, demons, and ghouls — has been in place to ensure separation between the two factions.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Participants are encouraged to come dressed as ghosts, ghouls, vampires, witches or pop culture characters.
—Marcus Smith, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2025
The electric vehicle company is rolling out a seasonal theme as a part of its software update that's made for ghouls, goblins and things that go bump in the night.
—Charles Singh, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
But this Halloween, chasing away the ghouls haunting Tesla looks like a miracle too far.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2025
Jack-o-lanterns, ghouls and goblins are around every corner, but the scariest creatures of all might be thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025
Forget goblins and ghouls—being secretly watched and filmed by a stranger is one of my worst fears, especially as a solo female traveler.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 7 Oct. 2025
Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 29 Dec. 2025
No disrespect to Purnell, who perfectly calibrated Lucy’s intrinsic hopefulness in the first season and slowly begins to curdle it this go-round as Lucy spends more time among ghouls, raiders, cannibals, and various other feuding factions.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
For centuries, a peace treaty between humans and the Black World — which houses all manner of witches, demons, and ghouls — has been in place to ensure separation between the two factions.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Participants are encouraged to come dressed as ghosts, ghouls, vampires, witches or pop culture characters.
—Marcus Smith, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2025
The electric vehicle company is rolling out a seasonal theme as a part of its software update that's made for ghouls, goblins and things that go bump in the night.
—Charles Singh, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
But this Halloween, chasing away the ghouls haunting Tesla looks like a miracle too far.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2025
Jack-o-lanterns, ghouls and goblins are around every corner, but the scariest creatures of all might be thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025
Forget goblins and ghouls—being secretly watched and filmed by a stranger is one of my worst fears, especially as a solo female traveler.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ghouls
Noun
-
Nas sounds hungry again, his dense, circular writing a tangle of flashbacks and evocative images of preachers rebuking demons and Yoda smoking blunts.—
Dash Lewis,
Pitchfork,
8 Jan. 2026
-
First, of course, is Nakache’s incredible resilience in the face of the demons of his past, which stem from the greater history of his country.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
These ghosts, which take the form of their dead friends, are mostly just goofy, with the shoddy special effects and glowy auras giving the whole thing a distinctly Haunted Mansion vibe; critically, the threat never feels real, which undermines any tension.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2025
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The ghosts of a 37-0 shutout to Iowa less than a month ago still lingered — the boos that faded into silence, the homecoming crowd that emptied before the fourth quarter, the scoreboard stuck on humiliation.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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On the previous episode, the stars danced spooky routines as ghosts, zombies, vampires and more for Halloween Night.—
Sarah Moore,
Freep.com,
4 Nov. 2025
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Bound to the service of the Hellsing Organization, Alucard fights against fellow vampires, a crusading faction of the Vatican called the Iscariot Organization, and wannabe Nazis alongside his allies Seres Victoria and Integra Hellsing.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Its depictions of dancing devils and witches’ sabbaths are supposed to scare viewers straight, but writer-director Benjamin Christensen is also sympathetic towards the plight of medieval women persecuted for witchcraft.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
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The anime series follows a young man who can demolish fellow devils via a pullstring in his chest that transforms parts of his body into chainsaws.—
Jack Smart,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ghouls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ghouls. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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