adj · adv · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈɡɑːs(t).li/
Northern-England, Scotland:/ˈɡas(t).li/
US:/ˈɡæs(t).li/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɑːstli (RP)
rhymes with -æstli (US, Northern England, Scotland)
CMU ARPABET:G AE1 S T L IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid; dismal.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Horrifyingly shocking.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Extremely bad.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: colloquial, dated
Examples
The play was simply ghastly.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adv
Meaning 4
In a ghastly manner.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ghastily, ghastlily
Antonyms: none provided
5
adjective satellite
Meaning 5
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
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
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: grim, grisly, gruesome, macabre, sick
Antonyms: none provided
6
adjective satellite
Meaning 6
gruesomely indicative of death or the dead
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a charnel smell came from the chest filled with dead men's bones
ghastly shrieks
the sepulchral darkness of the catacombs
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: charnel, sepulchral
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From a conflation of gastly, from Middle English gastly, from gasten (from Old English gǣstan (“to torment, frighten”)) + -ly, and ghostly (which was also spelt gastlich in Middle English). Equivalent to ghast/gast + -ly. Spelling with gh developed in the 16th century due to the conflation.
Across languages
Translations
88 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
мъртвешки
(mǎrtveški)
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Bulgarian:
смъртноблед
(smǎrtnobled)
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Esperanto:
makabra
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Finnish:
kalmankalpea
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Finnish:
kuolonkalpea
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Finnish:
kalpea
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
French:
blafard
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
French:
livide
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Georgian:
მკვდრისფერდადებული
(mḳvdrisperdadebuli)
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Georgian:
გაფითრებული
(gapitrebuli)
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Georgian:
ფერწასული
(perc̣asuli)
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
German:
geisterhaft
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Polish:
upiorny
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Spanish:
fantasmal
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Spanish:
cadavérico
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
Spanish:
cadaveroso (disused)
— Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid
