as in gruesome
extremely disturbing or repellent
the police report described the murder scene in grisly detail
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Recent Examples of grisly
Some favoring a hunt cited the grisly death of an 89-year-old man, killed and partially eaten this month along with his dog by a 263-pound bear in Collier County in southwest Florida.
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Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 May 2025
For instance, Lea Wait’s mass-market crime novel Shadows at the Spring Show, published in 2005, goes so far as to make anger over the transracial adoption the motive for a string of grisly murders in a small town.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 23 Apr. 2025
Tamaulipas is also the site of two of the most grisly massacres in recent Mexican history — the slayings of at least 265 U.S.-bound migrants in two separate mass killings more than a decade ago in the municipality of San Fernando.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
There was that dangerous and engrossing luxury hotel chain, a rebellious underground faction, the ultimate high-stress hospital and, just this weekend, the harrowing second chapter in a post-apocalyptic fungal zombie tale came to a grisly conclusion.
—Dan Heching, CNN Money, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for grisly
Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 May 2025
For instance, Lea Wait’s mass-market crime novel Shadows at the Spring Show, published in 2005, goes so far as to make anger over the transracial adoption the motive for a string of grisly murders in a small town.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 23 Apr. 2025
Tamaulipas is also the site of two of the most grisly massacres in recent Mexican history — the slayings of at least 265 U.S.-bound migrants in two separate mass killings more than a decade ago in the municipality of San Fernando.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
There was that dangerous and engrossing luxury hotel chain, a rebellious underground faction, the ultimate high-stress hospital and, just this weekend, the harrowing second chapter in a post-apocalyptic fungal zombie tale came to a grisly conclusion.
—Dan Heching, CNN Money, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for grisly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grisly
Adjective
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In the wake of the gruesome shootings of two Minnesota Democratic lawmakers and their spouses, Lee took to social media.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
19 June 2025
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So prepare for more gruesome kills, more gross-outs, more insight into how a society might actually look a generation after an unfathomable event.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Remember the horrific pro-Western regime of the Shah with its 150,000+ political prisoners?—
Paul Bedard,
The Washington Examiner,
21 June 2025
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Hogg’s political genesis began as a senior at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland when the horrific shooting occurred in 2018.—
Maximo Bratter,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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But then what looked like a tap-in par on the long par-three eighth turned into a shocking miss.—
Doug Ferguson,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2025
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The team grapples with a leadership shakeup and a shocking ultimatum.—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grisly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grisly. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.
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