adjective
-
of or resembling a ghost; spectral
a ghostly face appeared at the window
-
suggesting the presence of ghosts; eerie
-
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 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
It rests in a ghostly state, empty cabins with a familiar sign affixed to the dining hall, Be The Light.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
Justin, the believer, is instantly alarmed by how these eerie tapes escalate from cute banter to ghostly crying babies and backward incantations.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026
And Kate Bush’s immortal 1978 single, with its swooping, operatic drama, interpretive dance–filled video and ghostly narrator only strengthened the book’s rep as a tale of exquisitely tortured love.
From Salon • Feb. 21, 2026
Like a ghostly apparition, she vanished into the surreal light of the fading sunset.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
