Definitions

ghastly

[gast-lee] / ˈgæst li /

ADJECTIVE

horrifying, dreadful; pale

Synonyms

STRONGEST

appalling awful frightening frightful ghostly ghoulish grim grisly gruesome hideous horrendous horrible horrid lurid macabre shocking sickening terrible terrifying unpleasant

WEAK

abhorrent anemic ashen bloodless cadaverous corpselike deathlike dim disgusting faint funereal haggard livid loathsome mortuary nauseating offensive pallid repellent repulsive sepulchral spectral supernatural uncanny unearthly unnatural wan weak wraithlike

Antonyms

STRONGEST

beautiful comforting delightful good great nice pleasant pleasing pretty wonderful

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.

While adamantly miserabilist, it does have a plot or at least one shocking plot point that’s so ghastly it made me giddy.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Meanwhile, the sumptuous imagery and amiable pacing of “Wuthering Heights” trounce del Toro’s ghastly slog of a film.

From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026

His penance is to “pass, like night, from land to land,” repeating his story: “And till my ghastly tale is told, / This heart within me burns.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Those usual characteristics of the Brisbane pitch, namely pace and bounce, should suit England's battery of pace bowlers, as they did in the first innings in Perth before things took a ghastly turn.

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025

Eventually, Colin saw before him on the side of the road a two-story cinder-block building painted a ghastly pink.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Vocabulary lists containing ghastly

"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

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