Ghastly meaning

găst'lē
Causing shock, revulsion, or horror; terrifying.

A ghastly murder.

adjective
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The definition of ghastly is something repellent, horrible, frightful, ugly, macabre or sickly.

Bad injuries that are so horrible you have to look away are an example of ghastly injuries.

A person who is very pale and sick is an example of someone who would be described as looking ghastly.

A really ugly wallpaper is an example of something you would describe as ghastly wallpaper.

adjective
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Resembling a ghost; pale or pallid.
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Extremely unpleasant or bad.
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Horrible; frightful.
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In a ghastly manner.

He turned ghastly pale on hearing the news.

adverb
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Ghostlike; pale; haggard.
adjective
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Very bad or unpleasant.
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Like a ghost in appearance; deathlike; pale; pallid; dismal.
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Horrifyingly shocking.
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Extremely bad.

The play was simply ghastly.

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Origin of ghastly

  • Alteration (influenced by ghost) of Middle English gastli from gasten to terrify aghast
    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
  • From a derivation of Old English gǣstan (“to torment, frighten”) with the suffix -lic. Equivalent to ghast/gast + -ly. Spelling with 'gh' developed 16th century from confusion with ghost; cf. also ghostly.
    From Wiktionary

Ghastly Sentence Examples

  • A fragment of the ghastly structure is in the library of Lincoln cathedral.

  • The gravest doubts, however, exist as to the authenticity of this story; Fernao Lopes, the Portuguese Froissart, who is the great authority fcr the details of the death of Inez, with some of the actors in which he was acquainted, says nothing of the ghastly ceremony, though he tells at length the tale of the funeral honours that the king bestowed upon his wife.

  • And as though it were foreordained that no element of horror should be wanting from the history of the crusades, in 1212 there took place one of the most ghastly tragedies that has ever happened in the world - the Crusade of the Children.

  • If you find yourself asking, how do I make a ghost costume that actually frightens passerbys come Halloween night, you'll want to add a few more ghastly details and special effects to your costume idea.

  • The stern determination of the British troops, which alone made possible the reduction of Delhi with so inadequate a force, was intensified, if possible, by the ghastly story of The Mass- Cawnpore.

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Words near ghastly in the Dictionary