grisly

[griz-lee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR grisly ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, gris·li·er, gris·li·est.

causing a shudder or feeling of horror; horrible; gruesome: a grisly murder.

formidable; grim: a grisly countenance.

Origin of grisly

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

Related formsgris·li·ness, noun

Can be confusedgrisly gristly grizzled grizzly

grisly

[gris-lee]

adjective, gris·li·er, gris·li·est. Obsolete.

gristly.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for grisly

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

Examples from the Web for grisly

Contemporary Examples of grisly

He admitted responsibility without hesitation, and in meticulous, grisly detail.
The Myth of the Central Park Five
Edward Conlon
October 19, 2014
These grisly images drew a huge audience, and allowed that audience to indulge in righteous indignation.
How the Media Failed to Nail the NFL
Steve Almond
October 19, 2014
In the wake of such a grisly screw up, it is tempting to play the blame game.
Mary Fallin’s Killer Fiasco
Michelle Cottle
May 1, 2014
The grisly footage obtained by BFMTV shows the French-speaking fighters arriving at a scene splayed with bodies.
French and Belgian Jihadists Boast About the Syrians They Slaughter
Tracy McNicoll
March 28, 2014
Christine Pelisek talks to the man examining the grisly finds.
The Bone Collectors Get to Work at Florida’s Dozier School
Christine Pelisek
September 6, 2013

Historical Examples of grisly

Swift on her part she paid him back with grisly grasp, and grappled with him.
Beowulf
Anonymous
So it might be, indeed, in a country where they were so plentiful, but it was not a grisly this time.
Two Arrows
William O. Stoddard
He had not been "treed," he had been bowldered, and the grisly had been arrowed and lanced thoroughly.
Two Arrows
William O. Stoddard
If he should slip there would be an end of it, for the grisly was close up now.
Two Arrows
William O. Stoddard
A grunt, a growl, a great lift, and the grisly was off the ground.
Two Arrows
William O. Stoddard

British Dictionary definitions for grisly

grisly

adjective -lier or -liest

causing horror or dread; gruesome

Derived Formsgrisliness, noun

Word Origin for grisly

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

xref

See grizzly

grisly

noun plural -lies

obsolete a variant spelling of grizzly

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for grisly

adj.

Old English grislic "horrible, dreadful," from root of grisan "to shudder, fear" (cf. Old Frisian grislik "horrible," Middle Dutch grisen "to shudder," Dutch griezelen, German grausen "to shudder, fear," Old High German grisenlik "horrible"), of unknown origin; Watkins connects it with the PIE root *ghrei- "to rub," on notion of "to grate on the mind." Cf. also gruesome, to which it probably is connected in some way.