adjective
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of or resembling a ghost; spectral
a ghostly face appeared at the window
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suggesting the presence of ghosts; eerie
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archaic of or relating to the soul or spirit
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ghostly
before 900; Middle English; Old English gāstlīc. See ghost, -ly
Explanation
Something ghostly looks or sounds like a ghost — strange and chilling. A ghostly figure appearing out of the fog can seem slightly unearthly. Distant, ghostly music sometimes echoes through an empty subway station, and ghostly voices can often be heard in stairwells or hallways, seeming to come from nowhere. Even your neighbor's glowing TV screen can appear ghostly on a dark night. The Old English root of ghostly is gastlic, which means "spiritual, holy, or not of the flesh," and also "supernatural."
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.
The ghostly white creature curled up on a weighing scale is almost unrecognisable in the Facebook post offering it for sale.
From Barron's • Jun. 29, 2026
The algae provide coral's characteristic colours, and their departure leaves behind a ghostly white structure that is gradually starving.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
The list of wonders begins with the Quiet Storm: the handbuilt 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, summoning 577 ghostly horses with soft-soled trainers on their hooves, galloping across the countryside and destroying driving records.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
Compared to the cheesy comet-tails that NBC began editing into slo-mo pitch replays in the ‘80s, ESPN’s ghostly “K-Zone” felt deadly serious: a technological marvel for an objective, computer-assisted age.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2026
I stand in the train yard, the ghostly, empty train yard, because it’s now or never; I don’t know that I’ll get the chance to face this again.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
