houses that were dark and grisly under the blank, cold sky D. H. Lawrence
2
: inspiring disgust or distaste
a grisly account of the fire
grislinessnoun
Did you know?
An angry grizzly bear could certainly inspire fear, so grizzly and grisly must be related, right? Grizzly comes from the Middle English adjective grisel, meaning "gray." Like its close relative grizzled, grizzly means "sprinkled or streaked with gray." In other words, the grizzly bear got its name because the hairs of its brownish to buff coat usually have silver or pale tips, creating a grizzled effect, not because it causes terror. Grisly is related to Old English grislic, which comes from a verb meaning "to fear" and which gives grisly its "terrifying" sense.
ghastly suggests the terrifying aspects of corpses and ghosts.
a ghastly accident
grisly and gruesome suggest additionally the results of extreme violence or cruelty.
an unusually grisly murder
suffered a gruesome death
macabre implies a morbid preoccupation with the physical aspects of death.
a macabre tale of premature burial
lurid adds to gruesome the suggestion of shuddering fascination with violent death and especially with murder.
the lurid details of a crime
Example Sentences
The jurors saw grisly photos of the crime scene. the police report described the murder scene in grisly detail
Recent Examples on the WebThe devastating attacks on New York City's Twin Towers and the Pentagon would propel the United States into its longest war in history and solidify bin Laden's grisly legacy.Fox News, 9 Sep. 2022 German, a 69-year-old reporter with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was found dead outside his home Saturday morning with stab wounds, a grisly end to a career dedicated to uncovering the truth in the Vegas area. Eric Levenson, CNN, 9 Sep. 2022 And newish associate Carmen Moyo, who was introduced last season (Charmaine Bingwa) continues to be more than willing to represent high-end clients who are likely guilty of the grisly crimes of which they are accused. Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2022 High-profile espionage cases in the post-war period often invoke the grisly fate of the Rosenbergs, the first U.S. citizens to be convicted and executed by electric chair for sharing atomic secrets with the Soviet Union in peace time. Manori Ravindran, Variety, 1 Sep. 2022 At the height of the show’s finale, in which Eddie meets a grisly fate and is summarily forgotten by the plot, one enterprising creator dedicated a ballad to the late Stranger Things loner. Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 30 Aug. 2022 There was fear among fans that Kim Wexler, Jimmy’s ex-wife, would see a grisly end. Mike Sacks, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2022 The grisly passages are countered by scenes with the Pages’ endearing extended family, and by dialogue that bristles with spiky wit. Tom Nolan, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022 Castro began to spread the false rumor about Arita Triminio around the time he was taken to Escobar Mendez’s burial site and shown a grisly video of his killing, according to his testimony. Salvador Rizzo, Washington Post, 2 July 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Old English grislic, from gris- (akin to Old English āgrīsan to fear); akin to Old High German grīsenlīh terrible