Synonyms for grisly
- adjective
- adverb
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Gruesome — horrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying
gruesome, ghastly, hideous, grim, horrifying, horrific, macabre, dreadful, horrible, frightful, appalling, horrid, terrifying, shocking, morbid, terrible, terrific, ghostly, alarming, awful, grizzly, wintry
2. Grizzled — obsolete form of grizzly
Adverb
Definitions
- adj. 1
Horrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying.
The photographs of the killings depict a grisly scene.
Example sentences
- horrifying Santiago told Rima about his horrifying discovery.
- hideous Some things get more hideous, when you clean them.
- gruesome I saved him from a gruesome and humiliating death.
- ghastly The idea of some ghastly presence constantly haunted him.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| grisly | rising | |
| horrifying | rising | |
| hideous | rising | |
| gruesome | rising | |
| ghastly | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- grim1
- 5 letters
- awful2, hoary2
- 6 letters
- horrid2, morbid2, wintry2, grimly2
- 7 letters
- hideous3, grizzly2, ghastly2, ghostly2, macabre3
- 8 letters
- terrible3, horrible3, shocking2, terrific3, terribly3, horrific3, dreadful2, alarming3, horribly3, gruesome2, grizzled2
- 9 letters
- appalling3, frightful2
- 10 letters
- terrifying4, horrifying4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (awful2 = 2 syllables).