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
Created by a number of its stars, Ghosts originated on the BBC in 2019, following a group of ghouls from different historical periods haunting a country house while sharing the house with its new living occupants.
—
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 25 Mar. 2026
Now working as a stocker, Ash accidentally unleashes undead ghouls after reading from the Necronomicon, forcing him to take up his chainsaw yet again to save humanity from the Deadites.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026
Here was music that pushed the genre back to the realm of ghosts and ghouls, the ideal soundtrack for doing battle with Dracula on the spiral staircase of his manor.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 17 Feb. 2026
Even a half-century later, the undead ghouls that descend upon survivors in a Pennsylvania farm house are timeless and the gut-punch ending couldn't be more timely.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
With Adam Roberts announcing the tempos on the baby grand piano, the ghouls in Tevye’s nightmare emerge from around the fourposter.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 4 Feb. 2026
In his masterful first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, ghouls and spirits keep chattering away, as if at a corner barbershop, while Abraham Lincoln mourns his dead 11-year-old son, Willie.
—Pico Iyer, Air Mail, 24 Jan. 2026
Its lead character is Harry Dresden, a professional wizard operating out of the city of Chicago in a world where ghouls, ghosts, werewolves and vampires exist in the shadows of modern society.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 21 Jan. 2026
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
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 25 Mar. 2026
Now working as a stocker, Ash accidentally unleashes undead ghouls after reading from the Necronomicon, forcing him to take up his chainsaw yet again to save humanity from the Deadites.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026
Here was music that pushed the genre back to the realm of ghosts and ghouls, the ideal soundtrack for doing battle with Dracula on the spiral staircase of his manor.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 17 Feb. 2026
Even a half-century later, the undead ghouls that descend upon survivors in a Pennsylvania farm house are timeless and the gut-punch ending couldn't be more timely.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
With Adam Roberts announcing the tempos on the baby grand piano, the ghouls in Tevye’s nightmare emerge from around the fourposter.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 4 Feb. 2026
In his masterful first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, ghouls and spirits keep chattering away, as if at a corner barbershop, while Abraham Lincoln mourns his dead 11-year-old son, Willie.
—Pico Iyer, Air Mail, 24 Jan. 2026
Its lead character is Harry Dresden, a professional wizard operating out of the city of Chicago in a world where ghouls, ghosts, werewolves and vampires exist in the shadows of modern society.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 21 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ghouls
Noun
-
His instincts, like his techniques, are relentlessly up-to-the-minute; Orsolya is hounded by not only her guilty conscience but also the demons of social media.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The Saja Boys, a boy band made up of demons, attempt to disrupt that mission.—
Mike Snider,
USA TODAY,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That’s how ghosts come to haunt a place.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Of course, ne’er-do-wells saw an opportunity to dress up and commit crimes as ghosts.—
Popular Science Team,
Popular Science,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Celebrate the endless oblivion of eternal night with an evening that recreates the city’s ethereal relationship with vampires in all their forms on this most hallowed of dates.—
William Earl,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
-
There’s energy vampires that suck the energy out of a room.—
Matt Young,
Houston Chronicle,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Other propaganda compared Native people to buffalo, cats, dogs, and devils.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
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There are sounds and shadows in the forest; the Devil, or devils, may be walking the earth.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ghouls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ghouls. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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