Definitions for ghastly
ˈgæst li, ˈgɑst-ghast·ly

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.5 / 2 votes

1. ghastly, grim, grisly, gruesome, macabre, sickadjective

   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"

2. charnel, ghastly, sepulchraladjective

   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"

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.5 / 2 votes

1. ghastlyadverb

   In a ghastly manner.

   He turned ghastly pale on hearing the news.

2. ghastlyadjective

   Horrifyingly shocking.

3. ghastlyadjective

   Extremely bad.

   The play was simply ghastly.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. GHASTLYadjective

   Etymology: gast, or ghost, and like.

   1. Like a ghost; having horrour in the countenance; pale; dreadful; dismal.

   Why looks your grace so heavily to-day?
   —— O, I have past a miserable night;
   So full of ugly sights, of ghastly dreams,
   So full of dismal terrour was the time. William Shakespeare, Rich. III.

   Envy quickly discovered in court Solyman’s changed countenance upon the great bassa, and began now to shew her ghastly face. Richard Knolles, History of the Turks.

   Death
   Grinn’d horrible a ghastly smile, to hear
   His famine should be fill’d. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. ii.

   Those departed friends, whom at our last separation we saw disfigured by all the ghastly horrours of death, we shall then see assisting about the majestick throne of Christ, with their once vile bodies transfigured into the likeness of his glorious body, mingling their glad acclamations with the hallelujahs of thrones, principalities and powers. Boyle.

   This poor man’s desolate wife,
   Expects some happy day;
   This ghastly thing, the comfort of her life. Thomas Flatman.

   He came, but with such alter’d looks,
   So wild, so ghastly, as if some ghost had met him,
   All pale and speechless. John Dryden, Spanish Fryar.

   I did not for these ghastly visions send;
   Their sudden coming does some ill portend. John Dryden, Ind. Em.

   I who make the triumph of to-day,
   May of to-morrow’s pomp one part appear,
   Ghastly with wounds, and lifeless on the bier! Matthew Prior.

   2. Horrible; shocking; dreadful.

   To be less than gods
   Disdain’d; but meaner thoughts learn’d in their flight,
   Mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail. John Milton.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ghastly

   Ghastly refers to something that is extremely shocking, horrifying or terrifying often associated with death or any form of extreme suffering. It can also mean extremely unwell or unpleasant.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Ghastly

   like a ghost in appearance; deathlike; pale; pallid; dismal

2. Ghastly

   horrible; shocking; dreadful; hideous

3. Ghastlyadverb

   in a ghastly manner; hideously

4. Etymology: [OE. gastlich, gastli, fearful, causing fear, fr. gasten to terrify, AS. gstan. Cf. Aghast, Gast, Gaze, Ghostly.]

How to pronounce ghastly?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

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   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

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   Fred

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   Tessa

   South African

How to say ghastly in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of ghastly in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of ghastly in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of ghastly in a Sentence

1. Prime Minister David Cameron:

   It's desperate stuff from an organization that really does do the most utterly despicable and ghastly acts, and people can see that again today, this is an organization that's losing territory, it's losing ground ... Britain will never be cowed by this sort of terrorism, our values are so much stronger than theirs. It may take a very long time but they will be defeated.

2. Piers Morgan:

   Theres nothing sleazy about it, or nasty, or even remotely problematic to quote the ghastly buzzword of modern-day political correctness.

3. Clive Staples Lewis:

   Just a hurried line...to tell a story which puts the contrast between *our* feast of the Nativity and all this ghastly Xmas racket at it's lowest. My brother heard a woman on a 'bus say, as the 'bus passed a church with a Crib outside it, Oh Lor' They bring religion into everything. Look- they're dragging it even into Christmas now

4. Andrew Gimson:

   He's not an old-style 'Euroskeptic' who takes his own tea bag with him when he gets on the channel ferry to go to some place full of ghastly foreigners, he's very good at putting the moderate case and speaking of having a relationship with Europe -- he just doesn't want Europe to be telling us what to do.

5. Bryan Holcombe:

   Sutherland Springs’s just not a problem to us, we know exactly where the family is, and Sutherland Springs’s not going to be long until we ’ll both be there, he said. And we’re really sort of looking forward to Sutherland Springs. Crystal Holcombes were upbeat and full of good humor during a telephone interview, and they are not an exception in this deeply evangelical part of Texas. What is so striking about relatives and friends of the 26 victims of the church shooting in Sutherland Springs is that they all believe good will come from this act of evil and that their loved ones are now safe for eternity, and breathing again, with God. Psychologists say such deep faith can help families deal with such a ghastly event. Even so, they warn that leaning too heavily on one’s religious beliefs can stunt the natural grieving period and result in post-traumatic stress later.

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References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=ghastly
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Ghastly
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=ghastly
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghastly