ghoul
Americannoun
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an evil demon, originally of Muslim legend, supposed to feed on human beings, and especially to rob graves, prey on corpses, etc.
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a grave robber.
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a person who revels in what is revolting.
noun
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a malevolent spirit or ghost
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a person interested in morbid or disgusting things
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a person who robs graves
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(in Muslim legend) an evil demon thought to eat human bodies, either stolen corpses or children
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ghoul
First recorded in 1780–90, ghoul is from the Arabic word ghūl
Explanation
A ghoul is an evil demon, ghost, or fiend. On Halloween, the kids dressed as fairies and pumpkins look cute. The kids dressed as ghouls, with fake blood dripping down their faces and hair matted in knots? Not so cute. The word ghoul originates in the Arabic word “ghul,” which refers to an evil spirit that digs up graves and eats the dead. Some confuse ghoul with the word “gremlin,” but the two are not interchangeable. A gremlin does not gorge on the flesh of the dead; it is more a mischievous imp and troublemaker, famous for causing mechanical difficulties in World War II aircraft.
Vocabulary lists containing ghoul
The Grim Reader: Wicked Words of Grave Importance for Halloween
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English Words Derived from Arabic
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Nine Stories
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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.
See Examples For:
Delia is possessed by a ghoul who makes her sing the Caribbean number in the voice of Belafonte while she gyrates with her mortified dinner guests.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
Beetlejuice's sequel sees Keaton reprise his role as the titular chaos-causing ghoul.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2024
Taking a pause to gather herself from his blunt answer, the comedian tried again to one-up the mendacious ghoul.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2024
She called it “a witty ghoul story, a grandson of ‘Frankenstein’ that plays off the conventions of recent teen-age horror movies while paying homage to the classic starring Boris Karloff.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 13, 2022
Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told reporters to clear off or she’d set the family ghoul on them.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
Others were more sympathetic but still unsettled by what he was doing not only to himself but also to his teenage children, who will have to deal with the ugly reactions of social-media ghouls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
Paula Dewar and her family have, for years, covered their home and outside street with hordes of ghouls, ghosts and goblins.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025
The streets are full of ghouls, masked horrors, and terrifying make-up—also it will be Halloween soon.
From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2025
The galloping ghouls in their low-budget 2002 thriller “28 Days Later” reinvigorated the genre.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2025
I didn’t like it, but we slipped through the security ghouls and into the Fields of Asphodel.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
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.
