ghastly

[ gast-lee, gahst- ]
See synonyms for: ghastlyghastliness on Thesaurus.com

adjective,ghast·li·er, ghast·li·est.
  1. shockingly frightful or dreadful; horrible: a ghastly murder.

  2. resembling a ghost, especially in being very pale: a ghastly look to his face.

  1. terrible; very bad: a ghastly error.

adverb
  1. Also ghast·li·ly, ghast·i·ly. in a ghastly manner; horribly; terribly.

  2. with a deathlike quality.

Origin of ghastly

1
1275–1325; Middle English gastly;see ghast, -ly

Other words for ghastly

Other words from ghastly

  • ghast·li·ness, noun

Words Nearby ghastly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ghastly in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ghastly

ghastly

/ (ˈɡɑːstlɪ) /


adjective-lier or -liest
  1. informal very bad or unpleasant

  2. deathly pale; wan

  1. informal extremely unwell; ill: they felt ghastly after the party

  2. terrifying; horrible

adverb
  1. unhealthily; sickly: ghastly pale

  2. archaic in a horrible or hideous manner

Origin of ghastly

1
Old English gāstlīc spiritual; see ghostly

Derived forms of ghastly

  • ghastliness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012