GHASTLY

ghastly, grim, grisly, gruesome, macabre, sick

(adjective) shockingly repellent; inspiring horror; “ghastly wounds”; “the grim aftermath of the bombing”; “the grim task of burying the victims”; “a grisly murder”; “gruesome evidence of human sacrifice”; “macabre tales of war and plague in the Middle ages”; “macabre tortures conceived by madmen”

charnel, ghastly, sepulchral

(adjective) gruesomely indicative of death or the dead; “a charnel smell came from the chest filled with dead men’s bones”; “ghastly shrieks”; “the sepulchral darkness of the catacombs”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

ghastly (comparative ghastlier, superlative ghastliest)

Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid; dismal.

Horrifyingly shocking.

Extremely bad.

Synonyms

• (sickly pale): See also pallid

• (horrifyingly shocking): lurid

Adverb

ghastly (not comparable)

In a ghastly manner.

Source: Wiktionary


Ghast"ly, a. [Compar. Ghastlier; superl. Ghastliest.] Etym: [OE. gastlich, gastli, fearful, causing fear, fr. gasten to terrify, AS. gæstan. Cf. Aghast, Gast, Gaze, Ghostly.]

1. Like a ghost in appearance; deathlike; pale; pallid; dismal. Each turned his face with a ghastly pang. Coleridge. His face was so ghastly that it could scarcely be recognized. Macaulay.

2. Horrible; shocking; dreadful; hideous. Mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail. Milton.

Ghast"ly, adv.

Definition: In a ghastly manner; hideously. Staring full ghastly like a strangled man. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 May 2025

THOUGHTFULLY

(adverb) showing consideration and thoughtfulness; “he had thoughtfully brought with him some food to share”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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