ghastly
Americanadjective
-
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
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
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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.
There were dedicated slots for science fiction and horror flicks, hosted by local celebrities like New York’s Zacherly, Pittsburgh’s Chilly Billy, Sir Graves Ghastly in Detroit.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2023
Ghastly narratives and strategic buzzwords such as “chaos” appear like clockwork.
From Washington Times • Sep. 9, 2018
His father was an editor, author and anthologist of poetry and children’s books, including “Beastly Boys and Ghastly Girls.”
From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2018
"A picaresque entitled The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, made before the foundation of Nea So Copros in a long deadlanded province of the abortive European democracy".
From The Guardian • Jun. 4, 2010
Ghastly rumors have reached me of the existence of a "Gates Ajar" cigar.
From McClure's Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 6, May, 1896 by Various
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.
