GHASTLY


Meaning of GHASTLY in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈgast-lē ]

adjective

( ghast·li·er ; -est )

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

Date: 14th century

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

• ghast·li·ness noun

• ghastly adverb

Synonyms:

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

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.