grisly
1 Americanadjective
-
causing a shudder or feeling of horror; horrible; gruesome.
a grisly murder.
-
formidable; grim.
a grisly countenance.
adjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of grisly
before 1150; Middle English; Old English grislīc horrible; cognate with Old High German grīsenlīh
Explanation
Grisly means disgusting and bloody, absolutely repulsive and horrible. There’s a wonderfully creepy movie about a man who suffers a grisly death at the hands of the grizzly bears he was studying. Do you like grisly horror movies? You might think that the reason the word grisly is so creepy, gruesome, and terrifying is somehow related to gristle, those really nasty tough parts you find in meat. But no, this is not the case. Old English grislic, the root of the word, means "horrible, dreadful." If something is gory and gross, it’s grisly.
Vocabulary lists containing grisly
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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Ender's Game
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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.
It wouldn’t be fair to divulge its details to those who are unfamiliar with the grisly tale, because it provides “Kenrex” with a dramatically, not to mention emotionally, satisfying conclusion.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
This could get grisly, but let's hope there's a modicum of football played at Hampden.
From BBC • Nov. 1, 2025
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.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
Her career and life are a constant reminder that we can be and do more at any age, whether that involves writing, acting or solving grisly murders.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025
Travelers to the village were rare, but occasionally a peddler would come through the village, selling "penny dreadful" accounts of grisly murders, fateful encounters, dire doings and remarkable escapes.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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.
