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ghastly
(redirected from ghastliest)

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ghast·ly  (gstl)
adj. ghast·li·er, ghast·li·est
1. Inspiring shock, revulsion, or horror by or as if by suggesting death; terrifying: a ghastly murder.
2. Suggestive of or resembling ghosts.
3. Extremely unpleasant or bad: "in the most abominable passage of his ghastly little book" Conor Cruise O'Brien.
4. Very serious or great: a ghastly error.

[Alteration (influenced by ghost) of Middle English gastli, from gasten, to terrify; see aghast.]

ghastli·ness n.
ghastly adv.
Synonyms: ghastly, grim, gruesome, grisly, macabre, lurid
These adjectives describe what is shockingly repellent in aspect or appearance. Ghastly applies to what inspires shock or horror because it suggests death: ghastly wounds.
Grim refers to what repels because of its stern or fierce aspect or its harsh, relentless nature: the grim task of burying the victims of the earthquake.
Gruesome and grisly describe what horrifies or revolts because of its appalling crudity or utter inhumanity: a gruesome murder; grisly jokes about cadavers.
Macabre suggests the horror of death and decay: macabre stories about a madman.
Lurid sometimes refers to an unnatural hue suggestive of death: The ill patient's skin took on a lurid pallor.
More often, the term describes what shocks because of its terrible and ghastly nature: lurid crimes.
At other times, it merely refers to glaring and usually unsavory sensationalism: a lurid account of the accident.

ghastly
Adjective
[-lier, -liest]
1. Informal very unpleasant
2. deathly pale
3. horrible: a ghastly accident [Old English gāstlīc spiritual]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.ghastly - 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"
alarming - frightening because of an awareness of danger
2.ghastly - 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"
offensive - unpleasant or disgusting especially to the senses; "offensive odors"

ghastly
adjective horrible, shocking, terrible, awful, grim, dreadful, horrendous, hideous, from hell (informal) horrid (informal) repulsive, frightful, loathsome, godawful (slang) << OPPOSITE lovely
Translations
Spanish ghastly [ˈgɑːstlɪ] adjhorrible (= pale); pálido
French ghastly [ˈgɑːstlɪ] adjatroce, horrible (= pale); livide, blême
German ghastly [ˈgɑːstlɪ] adjgrässlich;
(complexion) → totenblass;
you look ghastly! (ill) → du siehst grässlich aus!

Italian ghastly [ˈgɑːstlɪ] adjorribile, orrendo/a

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