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gruesome

 - 3 dictionary results

grue⋅some

  [groo-suhm]
Use gruesome in a Sentence
–adjective
1. causing great horror; horribly repugnant; grisly: the site of a gruesome murder.
2. full of or causing problems; distressing: a gruesome day at the office.
Also, grewsome.

Origin:
1560–70; obs. grue to shudder (c. G grauen, D gruwen) + -some 1

Related forms:
grue⋅some⋅ly, adverb
grue⋅some⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gruesome
grue·some   (grōō'səm)   
adj.  Causing horror and repugnance; frightful and shocking: a gruesome murder. See Synonyms at ghastly.

[Obsolete grue, to shudder (from Middle English gruen, from Middle Dutch grūwen or Middle Low German gruwen) + -some1.]
grue'some·ly adv., grue'some·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

gruesome 
1570, from M.E. gruen "feel horror, shudder" (c.1300), possibly from M.Du. gruwen or M.L.G. gruwen "shudder with fear" (cf. Ger. grausam "cruel"), or from a Scand. source (cf. Dan. grusom "cruel," grue "to dread," though others hold that these are Low Ger. loan-words). One of the many Scottish words popularized in England by Scott's novels.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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