ghastly
UK/ˈɡɑːs(t).li/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Northern England/ˈɡas(t).li/
ghastly adjective: like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid; dismal.
Adjective
ghastly (comparative ghastlier, superlative ghastliest)
- Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid; dismal.
- Each turned his face with a ghastly pang.1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798, →OCLC
- His face was so ghastly that it could scarcely be recognized.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and...
- Horrifyingly shocking.
- Mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail.1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why...1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC
- Extremely bad.
- The play was simply ghastly.
- Well, Uncle, it's really been a ghastly mistake from the very beginning.1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London
Adverb
ghastly (comparative more ghastly or ghastlier, superlative most ghastly or ghastliest)
- In a ghastly manner.
- Her face was ghastly pale, and perhaps rendered still more so by the blueish light of the fire.1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Adventure of My Uncle”, in Tales of a Traveller, part 1 (Strange Stories. […]), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea...
- She drained it at a single draught, while Sancgraal’s silent lips appeared to tremble with some mental utterance—perhaps, for who can fathom the depths of superstition, in her most cavernous hollows of atheistic doubt?—perhaps murmuring the absolutory formula of his church over her!—Almost...1854, [Emma Robinson], “The Shrine of St. Edward”, in Westminster Abbey; or, The Days of the Reformation. […], volume III, London: John Mortimer, […], →OCLC, page 234
ghastly meaning in Urdu, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada
ghastly in Urdu
- بھیانک, ڈراؤنا, خوفناک
ghastly in Bengali
- ভয়ঙ্কর, বীভৎস, অত্যন্ত খারাপ, অপ্রীতিকর
ghastly in Malayalam
- ഘോരാകാരമായ, കരാളവദനമായ, ഭയാനകമായ, ബീഭത്സമായ
ghastly in Kannada
- ಬೆಚ್ಚಿಸುವ, ಭಯಂಕರ, ಕರಾಳ, ರೌದ್ರ, ಭೀಕರ, ಘೋರ
More languagesFewer languages
- ghastly in Punjabi
- ਡਰਾਉਣਾ ḍarāuṇā, ਡਰੌਣਾ ḍarauṇā
Examples of ghastly in a sentence
- "My men grow mutinous day by day; / My men grow ghastly wan and weak." / The stout mate thought of home; a spray / Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.1892, Joaquin Miller, Columbus
- Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
- Johnathan's lips moved ghastly before his voice would come.1921, William Dudley Pelley, The Fog: A Novel, page 196:
Synonyms of ghastly
Forms of ghastly
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | ghastlier |
| superlative | ghastliest |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | more ghastly |
| comparative | ghastlier |
| superlative | most ghastly |
| superlative | ghastliest |
Origin of ghastly
From a conflation of gastly, from Middle English gastly, from gasten (from Old English gǣstan (“to torment, frighten”)) + -ly, and ghostly (which was also spelt gastlich in Middle English). Equivalent to ghast/gast + -ly. Spelling with gh developed in the 16th century due to the conflation.
Words formed from ghastly
Questions about ghastly
- What does ghastly mean?
- Ghastly means like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid; dismal.
- What is ghastly in Urdu?
- Ghastly in Urdu is بھیانک, ڈراؤنا, خوفناک. See Ghastly meaning in Urdu.
- How do you use ghastly in a sentence?
- "My men grow mutinous day by day; / My men grow ghastly wan and weak." / The stout mate thought of home; a spray / Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
- What part of speech is ghastly?
- Ghastly can be an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce ghastly?
- Ghastly is pronounced /ˈɡɑːs(t).li/ (UK).
Words near ghastly in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ghastly (page history and authors); ghastly (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Ghastly (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ghastly (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ghastly (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਡਰਾਉਣਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “ghastly.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ghastly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.