/ ˈgɑːstli; NAmE ˈgæstli/ adjective ( ghast·lier , ghast·li·est )
1.
( of an event ) very frightening and unpleasant, because it involves pain, death, etc.
SYN horrible :
a ghastly crime / murder
2.
( informal ) ( of an experience or a situation ) very bad; unpleasant
SYN terrible :
The weather was ghastly.
It's all been a ghastly mistake.
3.
( informal ) ( of a person or thing ) that you find unpleasant and dislike very much
SYN horrible :
her ghastly husband
This lipstick is a ghastly colour.
4.
[ not usually before noun ] ill / sick or upset
SYN terrible :
I felt ghastly the next day.
5.
( literary ) very pale in appearance, like a dead person :
His face was ghastly white.
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from obsolete gast terrify, from Old English gǣstan , of Germanic origin; related to ghost . The gh spelling is by association with ghost . The sense objectionable dates from the mid 19th cent.