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
The grisly discovery was made on Sunday morning at approximately 9:15 a.m. when a person on a fishing vessel reported seeing a body floating near the Isles of Shoals to the U.S. Coast Guard, according to a statement from the New Hampshire State Police on Thursday.
—
Jon Haworth, ABC News, 18 July 2025
This summer, Russia passed the grisly milestone of 1 million people killed or wounded as a result of the conflict.
—Ilan Berman, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
One of the invasive Burmese pythons plaguing South Florida met its demise in the jaws of an alligator, and the grisly scene played out in full view of tourists at Everglades National Park.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2025
That is a nasty process which involves digging up Ambar’s still-fresh corpse, then subjecting it to various grisly indignities night after night as retribution gets visited upon our heroine’s persecutors.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grisly
Jon Haworth, ABC News, 18 July 2025
This summer, Russia passed the grisly milestone of 1 million people killed or wounded as a result of the conflict.
—Ilan Berman, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
One of the invasive Burmese pythons plaguing South Florida met its demise in the jaws of an alligator, and the grisly scene played out in full view of tourists at Everglades National Park.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2025
That is a nasty process which involves digging up Ambar’s still-fresh corpse, then subjecting it to various grisly indignities night after night as retribution gets visited upon our heroine’s persecutors.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grisly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grisly
Adjective
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Galpin’s storyline does conclude in Episode 2 of Wednesday Season 2, Part 1 as the lonely man dies a gruesome death, discovered by Wednesday.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
8 Aug. 2025
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And part of his interaction with the public had become a rather gruesome tradition: Osbourne would throw pieces of raw meat and animal parts, including intestines and liver.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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But Indy got hit with a two-by-four with Tyrese Haliburton’s horrific Achilles tear in the first quarter of Game 7 of the finals.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
19 Aug. 2025
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In the end, the book circles back to the Jewish search for a home after the catastrophe of World War II and, in just a few potent pages, the consequent suffering of the Palestinians, magnified by the current horrific destruction underway in Gaza.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Perhaps the biggest moment was her shocking termination as principal, which not only upset her fictional colleagues but also viewers.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
14 Aug. 2025
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In a shocking turn of events, Weems is Wednesday’s new spirit guide, or figure from beyond death who will help Wednesday with her psychic visions.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grisly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grisly. Accessed 30 Aug. 2025.
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