grisly

¹

[griz-lee]

adjective

grislier, grisliest 

1. causing a shudder or feeling of horror; horrible; gruesome.

   a grisly murder.

2. formidable; grim.

   a grisly countenance.

grisly

²

[gris-lee]

adjective

Obsolete.

grislier, grisliest 

1. an obsolete spelling of gristly.

grisly

¹

/ ˈɡrɪzlɪ /

adjective

1. causing horror or dread; gruesome

grisly

²

/ ˈɡrɪzlɪ /

noun

1. obsolete,  a variant spelling of grizzly

Other Word Forms

• grisliness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of grisly¹

before 1150; Middle English; Old English grislīc horrible; cognate with Old High German grīsenlīh

Word History and Origins

Origin of grisly¹

Old English grislic; related to Old Frisian grislik, Old High German grīsenlīh

Example Sentences

Members of the MS-13 gang used the Angeles National Forest and other isolated mountain areas as the locale for a series of grisly killings, prosecutors argued at a racketeering trial in downtown Los Angeles.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Then the real impact of the radiation strikes, with grisly symptoms that range from hair loss and extreme fatigue to the destruction of bone marrow and internal bleeding.

Read more on Literature

This could get grisly, but let's hope there's a modicum of football played at Hampden.

Read more on BBC

According to the official press materials, “Monster” strives to center the people forever marked by Dahmer’s grisly acts.

Read more on Salon

I’d traveled to Edinburgh with a dark purpose: to uncover the grisly stories and Gothic artifacts that helped inspire Mary Shelley to write one of the world’s most enduring horror tales.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abominable 
• appalling 
• awful 
• bloody 
• dreadful 
• eerie 
• frightful 
• ghastly 
• grim 
• gruesome 
• hideous 
• horrible 
• horrid 
• lurid 
• macabre 
• shocking 
• sickening 
• terrible 
• terrifying