ghastly

adjective

ghast·​ly ˈgast-lē 

ghastlier; ghastliest

1

a

: terrifyingly horrible to the senses : frightening

a ghastly crime

b

: intensely unpleasant, disagreeable, or objectionable

such a life seems ghastly in its emptiness and sterility

—Aldous Huxley

2

: resembling a ghost

3

obsolete : filled with fear

4

: very great

a ghastly mistake

ghastliness noun

ghastly adverb

Synonyms

• appalling
• atrocious
• awful
• dreadful
• frightful
• grisly
• gruesome
• grewsome
• hideous
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrid
• horrific
• horrifying
• lurid
• macabre
• monstrous
• nightmare
• nightmarish
• shocking
• terrible
• terrific

Choose the Right Synonym for ghastly

ghastly, grisly, gruesome, macabre, lurid mean horrifying and repellent in appearance or aspect.

ghastly suggests the terrifying aspects of corpses and ghosts.

a ghastly accident

grisly and gruesome suggest additionally the results of extreme violence or cruelty.

an unusually grisly murder

suffered a gruesome death

macabre implies a morbid preoccupation with the physical aspects of death.

a macabre tale of premature burial

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

the lurid details of a crime

Examples of ghastly in a Sentence

You're making a ghastly mistake.

His room was a ghastly mess.

Recent Examples on the Web

Weeks after the zoo held an official funeral for its animals, two of the three elephants that were not actually dead continued to suffer, their cages covered in bunting so the public would not see the ghastly evidence. —John M. Kinder, The Conversation, 1 May 2025

The team, which has a ghastly 1-13 record in potential series-clinching games who will almost certainly meet an inglorious and spectacular ending if that mark falls to 1-15 by the end of the weekend. —Chris Johnston, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025

Its compact, efficient plot careens rapidly from one shocking event to another, from raucous parties to illicit affairs to car crashes to ghastly murders. —Rob Kyff, Hartford Courant, 19 Apr. 2025

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners flexes a modern disregard for categorization, exploring the ghastly inequities of the Jim Crow South through luridly competing genre lenses. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gastly, from gasten to terrify — more at gast

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for ghastly

• lastly
• vastly
• steadfastly

Kids Definition

ghastly

adjective

ghast·​ly ˈgast-lē 

ghastlier; ghastliest

1

a

: horrible sense 1, shocking

a ghastly crime

b

: very unpleasant, disagreeable, or objectionable

2

: resembling a ghost

a ghastly face

ghastliness noun

ghastly adverb