variants also grewsome

Synonym Chooser

How is the word gruesome different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of gruesome are ghastly, grisly, lurid, and macabre. While all these words mean "horrifying and repellent in appearance or aspect," grisly and gruesome suggest additionally the results of extreme violence or cruelty.

an unusually grisly murder
suffered a gruesome death

Where would ghastly be a reasonable alternative to gruesome?

The words ghastly and gruesome can be used in similar contexts, but ghastly suggests the terrifying aspects of corpses and ghosts.

a ghastly accident

How do lurid and gruesome relate to one another?

Lurid adds to gruesome the suggestion of shuddering fascination with violent death and especially with murder.

the lurid details of a crime

When can macabre be used instead of gruesome?

While the synonyms macabre and gruesome are close in meaning, macabre implies a morbid preoccupation with the physical aspects of death.

a macabre tale of premature burial

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 gruesome Cultures around the world have ancient traditions of narrating events, sometimes gruesome, through song. John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025 Prior to wide receiver Tyreek Hill suffering a gruesome injury that ended his season, he was rumored to have been shopped around. Greg Liodice, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025 Two-hour walking tour touches on the gruesome and macabre events of the city's past, including grave robbing, a serial killing saloonist and other deadly mayhem. Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Oct. 2025 That's eerily similar to the 1970s, when the same pattern resulted in a gruesome period for the stock market. Sarah Min, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gruesome
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gruesome
Adjective
  • The tragedy in question is no secret — Chris and Jenny are killed together in a horrific car accident, which inspires all sorts of awful questions — and the fallout is mostly predictable.
    Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 22 Oct. 2025
  • How the stakeholders juggled those diametrically opposed ideas—liberty and self-governance but also slavery and their horrific treatment of the Native American population—is the part of the human experience that Burns is most interested in exploring.
    Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Inherently, a writer doing historical research is always victim to this horrible irony.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
  • There are some horrible things said on stage by the mystery writer that Tony Carlin plays.
    Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The shocking New York City murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024 was followed by a July Midtown Manhattan shooting that claimed the lives of two security guards and two executives at Blackstone and Rudin Management.
    Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
  • At some hibernation sites, a shocking 90 to 100 percent of bats have died, and there currently is no cure.
    Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The heiress was involved in a terrible car accident in 1929, which left her with life-long medical issues.
    Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 26 Oct. 2025
  • And keeper Caoimhin Kelleher, once Alisson’s backup with Liverpool, has improved after a terrible start.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The tragedy in question is no secret — Chris and Jenny are killed together in a horrific car accident, which inspires all sorts of awful questions — and the fallout is mostly predictable.
    Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 22 Oct. 2025
  • But talk about some awful timing, my word.
    Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Even more frightening for journalists is the idea that generations are growing up without the habit of following news, particularly for their own communities.
    David Bauder, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Witch-burning, frightening folklore, and centuries of war and bloodshed have imparted an unsettling ambience in destinations like Edinburgh.
    Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Gruesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gruesome. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on gruesome

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