ghastly Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    macabre; grisly; sick; gruesome; grim.
    • 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
  2. adjective satellite gruesomely indicative of death or the dead
    sepulchral; charnel.
    • a charnel smell came from the chest filled with dead men's bones
    • ghastly shrieks
    • the sepulchral darkness of the catacombs

WordNet

Ghast"ly adjective
Etymology
OE. gastlich, gastli, fearful, causing fear, fr. gasten to terrify, AS. gæstan. Cf. Aghast, Gast, Gaze, Ghostly.
Wordforms
comparative Ghastlier ; superlative Ghastliest
Definitions
  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 adverb
Definitions
  1. In a ghastly manner; hideously.
    Staring full ghastly like a strangled man. Shak.

Webster 1913