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ghastlycausing great horror or fear; extremely unpleasant

Part of speech: ADJECTIVE

Definition: causing great horror or fear; extremely unpleasant

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈɡæstli/

Example Sentences

  • My cooking was so ghastly that even the dog refused to eat it.
  • The student's ghastly excuse was that his homework was eaten by a vegetarian dinosaur.
  • The witness turned ghastly when asked to describe what he had seen.

ghastly

ADJECTIVE

[/ˈɡæstli/]

causing great horror or fear; extremely unpleasant

The ghastly scene at the shipwreck left rescuers frozen in shock.
💡 Concept

The ghastly scene at the shipwreck left rescuers frozen in shock.

Lee ghast-ly reacts to ghosts - horribly frightened and pale!
🧠 Mnemonic

Lee ghast-ly reacts to ghosts - horribly frightened and pale!

The mansion looms vastly and ghastly, lastly explored!
🎵 Rhyme

The mansion looms vastly and ghastly, lastly explored!

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🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈɡæstli/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈɡɑːstli/

🌳Etymology

Rootgast
Suffix--ly

Origin

From Middle English 'gastly,' derived from the Old English 'gæstan' meaning 'to frighten or terrify.' The word evolved through Germanic roots related to fear and spiritual dread.

Breakdown

gast (to frighten, from Old English gæstan) + -ly (adverb/adjective suffix meaning 'in the manner of') = ghastly (in a frightening manner; horrible)

🎵Rhyme

lastlyvastlynasty
lastly
vastly
nasty

🔗Collocations

ghastly mistake
ghastly pale
ghastly scene
look ghastly
ghastly weather
ghastly crime

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

My cooking was so ghastly that even the dog refused to eat it.

😄 Fun example

The student's ghastly excuse was that his homework was eaten by a vegetarian dinosaur.

The witness turned ghastly when asked to describe what he had seen.

The ghastly smell from the laboratory made everyone evacuate the building.

📚Related Words

Synonyms

horribledreadfulappallinggruesomehideous

Antonyms

pleasantbeautifullovely

Related

ghostghoulishmacabreeeriesinister

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