Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of grisly are ghastly, gruesome, 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

When is ghastly a more appropriate choice than grisly?

Although the words ghastly and grisly have much in common, ghastly suggests the terrifying aspects of corpses and ghosts.

a ghastly accident

How do lurid and gruesome relate to one another, in the sense of grisly?

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

the lurid details of a crime

When might macabre be a better fit than grisly?

While the synonyms macabre and grisly 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 grisly Anyone with an aversion to physical and mental torture will likely find Dangerous Animals a repulsive turnoff, but others with a taste for grisly violence should find something juicy to chomp on. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2025 The vision allows Iris to escape her grisly fate and save everyone around her. Beatrice Loayza, New York Times, 15 May 2025 Over three episodes, recently discovered recordings of Fred’s interviews with police make an already grisly story even more lurid. Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 14 May 2025 Maybe not the actual people, who are usually sunny and chipper in contrast to their grisly work, but certainly the actual act of being worked on by one of them. Dave Schilling, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for grisly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grisly
Adjective
  • Six decades later, Hamas would engage in a gruesome competition with Fatah to outdo one another with terrorist attacks during the 1990s and early 2000s.
    Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2025
  • But Trump and Epstein’s association has been out in the open for nearly a quarter century; nineties-era footage of the gruesome twosome together at Mar-a-Lago, leering at a group of young cheerleaders, has been circulating since at least 2019.
    Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 6 June 2025
Adjective
  • That this horrific upheaval comes care of Lucy’s work is the real kicker.
    Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 9 June 2025
  • This is what Qasem Hassan had feared from the start—that the horrific violence inflicted on Israelis on October 7th would be used to justify a war without limits, dehumanizing all Palestinians.
    Eyal Press, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Adjective
  • Continuing a recent pattern of face-to-furniture collisions on the talk show, the 69-year-old's head made a momentous journey plummeting toward the program's storied table at the top of Tuesday's live broadcast, after panelist Joy Behar made a shocking joke about Sean Combs.
    Joey Nolfi Published, EW.com, 3 June 2025
  • The toll represented a shocking increase from the 20 deaths recorded in 2019.
    Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 2 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Grisly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grisly. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.

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