ghastly meaning

ghastly as an adjective

1. 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

   Synonyms: grim, grisly, gruesome, macabre, sick

   Similar: alarming

   Related forms: ghastliness

2. 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

   Synonyms: charnel, sepulchral

   Similar: offensive

   Related forms: ghastliness

How to pronounce ghastly

ghastly is pronounced /ˈɡɑːstli/ in British English and /ˈɡæstli/ in American English. It has 2 syllables, with the stress on the first syllable.

Words that rhyme with ghastly

• lastly
• vastly