ghastly

[gast-lee]

adjective

ghastlier, ghastliest 

1. shockingly frightful or dreadful; horrible.

   a ghastly murder.

2. resembling a ghost, especially in being very pale.

   a ghastly look to his face.

   Synonyms: cadaverous, pallid, deathlike

3. terrible; very bad.

   a ghastly error.

adverb

1. Also ghastlily ghastily in a ghastly manner; horribly; terribly.

2. with a deathlike quality.

ghastly

/ ˈɡɑːstlɪ /

adjective

1. informal,  very bad or unpleasant

2. deathly pale; wan

3. informal,  extremely unwell; ill

   they felt ghastly after the party

4. terrifying; horrible

adverb

1. unhealthily; sickly

   ghastly pale

2. archaic,  in a horrible or hideous manner

Other Word Forms

• ghastliness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ghastly¹

1275–1325; Middle English gastly; ghast, -ly

Word History and Origins

Origin of ghastly¹

Old English gāstlīc spiritual; see _ghostly

Example Sentences

The commissioner described Panorama's footage, obtained by secret filming, as "vile to watch", calling the officers involved "ghastly, ghastly individuals".

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Kirk’s death was ghastly and contemptible, but in a media environment and country conditioned to move on, its shock is already beginning to wear off.

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"Surely part of the definition of being in a free society is people say ghastly things, offensive things, awful things, ugly things, and we don't sweep them under the carpet," he has said.

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The first-ever woman to become deputy leader of the Labour Party has said "nobody in their right mind would want" the position, which she described as "a terrible job, really ghastly".

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The finale is ghastly, grisly and even humorous when Madigan gets the chance to play up her character’s eccentricities to their most campy heights.

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Related Words

• appalling 
• awful 
• frightening www.thesaurus.com
• frightful 
• ghostly 
• ghoulish 
• grim 
• grisly 
• gruesome 
• hideous 
• horrendous 
• horrible 
• horrid 
• lurid 
• macabre 
• shocking 
• sickening 
• terrible 
• terrifying 
• unpleasant 

When To Use

What does ghastly mean?

Ghastly means dreadful, horrible, terrible, or shockingly frightful.Ghastly is more common in everyday usage in the U.K. than in the U.S., but it is used in the same ways in both places. It can be applied in a range of serious and not-so-serious ways.Ghastly can also mean resembling a ghost due to being very pale. Less commonly, it can be used as an adverb.Example: Our dinner was positively ghastly—all the food was underseasoned and overcooked until it was nearly inedible.