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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ghast·ly    Audio Help   [gast-lee, gahst-] Pronunciation Key adjective, -li·er, -li·est, adverb
–adjective
1.shockingly frightful or dreadful; horrible: a ghastly murder.
2.resembling a ghost, esp. in being very pale: a ghastly look to his face.
3.terrible; very bad: a ghastly error.
–adverb
4.Also, ghast·li·ly, ghast·i·ly. in a ghastly manner; horribly; terribly.
5.with a deathlike quality.

[Origin: 1275–1325; ME gastly; see ghast, -ly]

ghast·li·ness, noun

2. deathlike, pallid, cadaverous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
ghastly

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ghast·ly    Audio Help   (gāst'lē)  Pronunciation Key 
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.]

ghast'li·ness n., ghast'ly adv.
Synonyms: 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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ghastly 
c.1305, from O.E. gæstan "to torment, frighten" + -lich "-ly." Spelling with gh- developed 16c. from confusion with ghost.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
ghastly

adjective
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" 
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" [syn: charnel

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ghastly1 [ˈgaːstli] adjective
very bad, ugly etc
Example: a ghastly mistake
Arabic: فاضِح
Chinese (Simplified): 极坏的
Chinese (Traditional): 極壞的
Czech: hrozný, strašný
Danish: forfærdelig
Dutch: vreselijk
Estonian: hirmus
Finnish: kamala
French: affreux
German: haarsträubend
Greek: φοβερός, απαίσιος
Hungarian: rettenetes
Icelandic: hræðilegur; ljótur
Indonesian: buruk
Italian: orribile, spaventoso
Japanese: ひどい
Korean: 형편없는
Latvian: briesmīgs
Lithuanian: baisus
Norwegian: fryktelig, grufull, uhyggelig
Polish: paskudny
Portuguese (Brazil): horrível
Portuguese (Portugal): horrível
Romanian: groaznic
Russian: ужасный
Slovak: strašný
Slovenian: grozen
Spanish: horrible, espantoso
Swedish: hemsk, förskräcklig
Turkish: korkunç, kötü
ghastly2 [ˈgaːstli] adjective
horrible; terrible
Example: a ghastly murder; a ghastly experience
Arabic: فَظيع، مُريع
Chinese (Simplified): 可怕的
Chinese (Traditional): 可怕的
Czech: příšerný, strašný
Danish: grufuld
Dutch: afschuwelijk
Estonian: õudne
Finnish: hirvittävä
French: horrible
German: gräßlich
Greek: φρικτός
Hungarian: szörnyű
Icelandic: hræðilegur, skelfilegur
Indonesian: mengerikan
Italian: orribile, orrendo
Japanese: ぞっとするような
Korean: 무시무시한
Latvian: drausmīgs; šausmīgs
Lithuanian: siaubingas
Norwegian: fryktelig, uhyggelig
Polish: straszny
Portuguese (Brazil): horrível
Portuguese (Portugal): horrível
Romanian: oribil
Russian: ужасный
Slovak: príšerný
Slovenian: grozljiv
Spanish: horrible, espantoso, terrible
Swedish: ohygglig, fasansfull
Turkish: berbat, korkunç
ghastly3 [ˈgaːstli] adjective
ill; upset
Example: I felt ghastly when I had flu.
Arabic: شاحِب، مريض، مُضْطَرب
Chinese (Simplified): 糟透的
Chinese (Traditional): 壞的﹐不安的
Czech: strašně zle
Danish: rædselsfuld; forfærdelig
Dutch: afschuwelijk
Estonian: halvasti
Finnish: kurja
French: horriblement mal
German: entsetzlich
Greek: άρρωστος, αναστατωμένος
Hungarian: pocsékul
Icelandic: hræðilega (lasinn)
Indonesian: menderita
Italian: male
Japanese: ひどく悪い
Korean: 불쾌한
Latvian: (par izskatu) ļoti slikts; līķbāls
Lithuanian: baisiai blogas
Norwegian: fæl, fryktelig
Polish: okropny, podły
Portuguese (Brazil): muito mal
Portuguese (Portugal): horrível
Romanian: bol­nav
Russian: ужасный
Slovak: strašne zle
Slovenian: grozno
Spanish: fatal
Swedish: gräslig
Turkish: berbat, çok fena
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ghastly

Gast\, v. t. [OE. gasten, g?sten to frighten, akin to Goth. usgaisjan. See Aghast, Ghastly, and cf. Gaze.] To make aghast; to frighten; to terrify. See Aghast. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ghastly

Gast"ful\, Gastly \Gast"ly\, a. [Obs.] See Ghastful, Ghastly.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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