ghastly
Americanadjective
-
ghastlier,
comparative
-
ghastliest
superlative
-
shockingly frightful or dreadful; horrible.
a ghastly murder.
-
resembling a ghost, especially in being very pale.
a ghastly look to his face.
- Synonyms:
- cadaverous, pallid, deathlike
-
terrible; very bad.
a ghastly error.
adverb
-
Also ghastlily ghastily in a ghastly manner; horribly; terribly.
-
with a deathlike quality.
adjective
-
informal very bad or unpleasant
-
deathly pale; wan
-
informal extremely unwell; ill
they felt ghastly after the party
-
terrifying; horrible
adverb
-
unhealthily; sickly
ghastly pale
-
archaic in a horrible or hideous manner
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of ghastly
Explanation
Something that's ghastly isn't just gross. It's shockingly, horrifyingly unpleasant — so gruesome and grisly that it makes you want to puke. An adjective used to describe that which inspires visions of death and feelings of revulsion, ghastly originated circa 1300. It is very close in meaning to the similarly spelled ghostly. In fact, the word in Old English was originally spelled gastli. But over the years, people confused gastli with ghost, began to adopt the gh- spelling. But don't you forget the "h" - that would be a ghastly spelling error on your part.
Vocabulary lists containing ghastly
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Open Window"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
He later describes his work as “cleansing the world of an ancient evil,” and is haunted by a ghastly vision of a spirit he encountered abroad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
While adamantly miserabilist, it does have a plot or at least one shocking plot point that’s so ghastly it made me giddy.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
In an interview to mark the fifth anniversary of Everard's murder, Sir Mark said "several ghastly cases of police officers committing awful offences against women" were bound to affect people's trust in the Met Police.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026
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.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2025
“Speak no ill of the dead. The prince paid a ghastly price for what he did.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Not least because, given various developing news stories relating to our hosts, the tournament has rather ghastlier noises-off than usual.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 11, 2018
Now investigators believe that both versions have a piece of the even ghastlier truth.
From Time Magazine Archive
Sigmund Freud himself could not have contrived a ghastlier childhood for a poet.
From Time Magazine Archive
No ghastlier picture of a nation's misery has ever been painted than that which closes the English Chronicle whose last accents falter out amidst the horrors of the time.
From History of the English People, Volume I Early England, 449-1071; Foreign Kings, 1071-1204; The Charter, 1204-1216 by John Richard Green
Floating logs, huge trees, acres of tangled greenery, the sweepings of a hundred miles of jungle, covered its surface with other and ghastlier trove.
From The Spinner's Book of Fiction by Various
There’s a darkly funny early shot of Rudolf riding a horse from his yard up to the gates of Auschwitz, completing the world’s shortest, ghastliest commute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2023
Minnesota will try to revive its fading playoff hopes four days after one of the ghastliest losses of the season, a 29-27 defeat Sunday to the previously winless Detroit Lions.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2021
They made it to the Super Bowl in 2014, only to have the ghastliest ending in football history against the Patriots.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 9, 2021
It was that ghastliest of hours — 3 a.m. — bedtime a distant memory and daylight an eternity away.
From New York Times ● Oct. 30, 2020
It was one of the ghastliest things I have ever seen.
From Death at the Excelsior And Other Stories by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
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.
