ghastly
American Heritage Dictionary:
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ghast·ly
(găst'lē) 
adj., -li·er, -li·est.
ghastly ghast'ly adv.
adj., -li·er, -li·est.
- Inspiring shock, revulsion, or horror by or as if by suggesting death; terrifying: a ghastly murder.
- Suggestive of or resembling ghosts.
- Extremely unpleasant or bad: "in the most abominable passage of his ghastly little book" (Conor Cruise O'Brien).
- Very serious or great: a ghastly error.
[Alteration (influenced by GHOST) of Middle English gastli, from gasten, to terrify. See aghast.]
ghastliness ghast'li·ness n.ghastly ghast'ly 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.
Roget's Thesaurus:
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ghastly
adjective
- Shockingly repellent: grim, grisly, gruesome, hideous, horrible, horrid, lurid, macabre. See beautiful/ugly.
- Causing or able to cause fear: appalling, dire, direful, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, formidable, frightful, redoubtable, scary, terrible, tremendous. See fear/courage.
- Gruesomely suggestive of ghosts or death: cadaverous, deadly, deathlike, deathly, ghostlike, ghostly, spectral. See live/die.
- Very bad: appalling, awful, dreadful, fearful, frightful, horrendous, horrible, shocking, terrible. See good/bad.
Antonyms by Answers.com:
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ghastly
adj
Definition: horrifying, dreadful
Antonyms: delightful, pleasant, pleasing, wonderful
adv
Definition: horrifying
Antonyms: pleasant
Word Tutor:
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ghastly
IN BRIEF: Hideous.
If nobody said anything unless he knew what he was talking about, a ghastly hush would descend upon the earth.
— Sir Alan Patrick Herbert (1890-1971).
Tutor's tip: A "ghostly" (looking like a ghost) apparition looks "ghastly" (frightening) to the unexpecting viewer.
LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'ghastly'
See crossword solutions for the clue Translations:
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Ghastly
Dansk (Danish)
adj. - frygtelig, afskyelig, grufuld
Nederlands (Dutch)
verschrikkelijk, akelig, doodsbleek
Français (French)
adj. - horrible, blafard, épouvantable, blême, livide
adv. - horriblement, effroyablement
Deutsch (German)
adj. - schrecklich, furchtbar, unheimlich, leichenblaß
adv. - schrecklich, furchtbar
Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - πελιδνός, κατάχλομος, απαίσιος, φρικτός
adv. - αρρωστημένα
Italiano (Italian)
terribile, sgradevole, pallido come un morto
Português (Portuguese)
adj. - horrível, cadavérico, chocante, muito ruim (coloq.), desagradável (coloq.)
adv. - horrivelmente, cadavericamente, lividamente
Русский (Russian)
ужасный, призрачный, ужасно
Español (Spanish)
adj. - terrible, horrible, espeluznante, escalofriante, pálido, lívido
adv. - terriblemente, horriblemente, en forma escalofriante
Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - hemsk, gräslig, spöklik
adv. - hemskt, spöklikt
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
可怕的, 惨白的, 惊人的
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 可怕的, 慘白的, 驚人的
한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 매우 무서운, 질린, 괴로운
日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - ぞっとするような, 恐ろしい, 青ざめた, ひどい, いやな, ものすごい
adv. - 恐ろしく, 青ざめて
العربيه (Arabic)
(صفه) مروع, شنيع (ظرف) بشكل مروع
עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - חיוור, מזעזע, כמו מת, נורא, דוחה, לא נעים
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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