ghoulish
Americanadjective
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strangely diabolical or cruel; monstrous.
a ghoulish and questionable sense of humor.
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showing fascination with death, disease, maiming, etc.; morbid.
ghoulish curiosity.
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of, relating to, or like a ghoul or ghouls.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ghoulish
Explanation
Ghoulish things are scary or morbid. A ghoulish sense of humor favors jokes about death and gore. An interest in other people's misfortune could be called ghoulish, and so could a fascination with deadly car accidents or plane crashes. The horrified feeling you might get when you think about death is the essence of something ghoulish. This adjective comes from ghoul, "an evil spirit," from the Arabic ġūl, a mythological corpse-eating demon.
Vocabulary lists containing ghoulish
Mardi Gras: Faith
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"The Witches" by Roald Dahl, Chapters 6–11
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The Suffix -ish, Part 3
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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.
What makes the character indelible is the ghoulish heavy makeup, a bright red wig with tiny bangs, and oversized tinted sunglasses -- a cartoonish look that has gone viral.
From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026
Aficionados will delight in minor details such as being close enough to touch the ghoulish monkey music box from the original, and being within breathing distance of the performers in these famous roles.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025
The band's official website described Eddie as "a ghoulish yet undeniably handsome and mysterious figure whose tantalizing image would go on to feature on every album and countless t-shirts".
From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025
At the end of the month, they will be carved up with a ghoulish grin to celebrate Halloween, a tradition that is becoming increasingly popular across the globe.
From Salon • Oct. 28, 2024
But his face was tilted back, his lips retracted and teeth bared in a ghoulish parody of a smile.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
