Ghastly (Adjective)
Meaning 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".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The medical examiner's report described the victim's injuries as a ghastly combination of stab wounds and blunt force trauma.
- The tourists stumbled upon a ghastly scene of animal massacre in the forest, with carcasses decaying in the underbrush.
- The documentary about the refugee crisis showed ghastly images of starving children, their eyes sunken and their skin stretched tight over their skulls.
- The special effects in the horror movie were so realistic that they created a ghastly and unsettling atmosphere that left the audience on edge.
- The war correspondent's accounts of the conflict included ghastly descriptions of bombed-out cities and towns, with civilians caught in the crossfire.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 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".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The crumbling mansion stood before us, its ghastly silence a testament to the tragic events that had unfolded within its walls.
- As we explored the abandoned asylum, we stumbled upon a room filled with rusted medical equipment, its ghastly equipment a grim reminder of the suffering that had taken place there.
- The air was thick with the smell of decay as we navigated the overgrown cemetery, the crumbling headstones seeming to loom over us like ghastly sentinels.
- Her voice grew hoarse as she told the story of the family tragedy, her words punctuated by ghastly sobs that sent shivers down our spines.
- In the depths of the haunted house, the creaking of the old wooden floorboards sounded like ghastly whispers, as if the house itself was trying to communicate with us.