gruesome

Or grew·some

[groo-suhm]

adjective

1. causing great horror; horribly repugnant; grisly.

   the site of a gruesome murder.

2. full of or causing problems; distressing.

   a gruesome day at the office.

gruesome

/ ˈɡruːsəm /

adjective

1. inspiring repugnance and horror; ghastly

Other Word Forms

• gruesomeness noun
• gruesomely adverb
• ungruesome adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gruesome¹

1560–70; obsolete grue to shudder (cognate with German grauen, Dutch gruwen ) + -some ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of gruesome¹

C16: originally Northern English and Scottish; see _grue , _-some ¹

Example Sentences

Set in northeastern China, where the unit was based, the film featured gruesome scenes depicting Japanese atrocities that would be familiar to earlier generations of Chinese moviegoers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Joe Freeman, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher, said the attack "should serve as a gruesome wake-up call that civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection".

Read more on BBC

When prosecutors displayed gruesome crime scene photos that showed how Calzada and Gallegos looked when they were found, some members of the jury recoiled.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Usually, with a lifeless body hanging limp from a broken neck, the spectacle of gruesome victimhood in a lynching photograph obscures the bigger picture.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The AFP news agency also cited local media outlet Elmaestro TV as reporting a "gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• appalling 
• frightful 
• ghastly 
• grim 
• grisly 
• hideous 
• horrendous 
• horrid 
• horrific 
• horrifying 
• lurid 
• macabre 
• morbid 
• shocking 
• terrible 
• terrifying 
• ugly 
• weird