gruesome
Americanadjective
-
causing great horror; horribly repugnant; grisly.
the site of a gruesome murder.
-
full of or causing problems; distressing.
a gruesome day at the office.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gruesome
1560–70; obsolete grue to shudder (cognate with German grauen, Dutch gruwen ) + -some 1
Explanation
Gothic novels, horror movies, and crime dramas don't shy away from showing gruesome scenes of death, pictures that inspire fright and repulsion. Synonyms include "ghastly," "grisly," "loathsome," and "macabre." Once upon a time, English contained a variety of words related to gruesome. The verb grue meant "to shudder," just as its Middle Dutch source gruwen did. Grueful and grueing also conveyed the sense of shivering with horror and disgust. All of these variations have been lost leaving us only with gruesome. Texting while driving has caused many gruesome accidents that you might not want to hear the gruesome details of. Although if you like gruesome movies, you might want to know.
Vocabulary lists containing gruesome
The Devil's Arithmetic
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A Long Way Gone
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gruesome stuff, no doubt — but back to the original premise.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 15, 2023
Gruesome stories help some of us navigate a gruesome world.
From Washington Post • Jun. 24, 2020
"Gruesome is relative," Steiner says to those who find the idea macabre.
From BBC • Feb. 1, 2017
Ralph Byrd plays the square-jawed Tracy and Boris Karloff -- natch -- is Gruesome.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2016
Gruesome, hideous, grew the anecdotes, The hall shivered.
From A Chair on the Boulevard by Merrick, Leonard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
