grisly

gris·ly

adjective

-·li·er, -·li·est

terrifying; horrible; ghastly

Origin of grisly

Middle English grislich from Old English grislic (akin to Old Frisian grislyk) from base of a-grisan, to shudder with fear, probably from Indo-European an unverified form ghrei-: see grime

Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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"grisly." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/grisly>.

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grisly. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/grisly

grisly

adjective

gris·li·er, gris·li·est

Causing repugnance; gruesome. See Synonyms at ghastly.

Origin of grisly

Middle English grisli from Old English grislīc ; see ghrēi- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

gris′li·ness
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"grisly." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/grisly>.

APA Style

grisly. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/grisly

Adjective

(comparative grislier, superlative grisliest)

horrifyingly repellent; terrifying, gruesome
The photos of the killings depict a grisly scene.

Origin

Late Old English grisliċ. Compare German grausen and Danish grusom.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"grisly." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/grisly>.

APA Style

grisly. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/grisly

SentencesSentence examples

Sentence Examples

Nearly every culture on the planet, in one form or another, has a myth about a man that can turn into a grisly beast - the Werewolf.
Lydia staggered to her feet and joined them, leaving the grisly sight behind.
The grisly scene leading to the condos likely dissuaded anyone from visiting, she rationalized.
He is described as a grisly monster with a hundred dragons' heads, who was conquered and cast into Tartarus by Zeus.
Pulling gloves and a bag from his pocket, he proceeded to collect the grisly specimen.

Also Mentioned In

WORDS NEAR grisly IN THE DICTIONARY