Adjacent Words

Grisly definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GRIS'LY, a. s as z. Frightful; horrible; terrible; as grisly locks; a grisly countenance; a grisly face; a grisly specter; a grisly bear.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: shockingly repellent; inspiring horror; "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" [syn: ghastly, grim, grisly, gruesome, macabre, sick]

Merriam Webster's

adjective (grislier; -est) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English grislic, from gris- (akin to Old English ?gr?san to fear); akin to Old High German gr?senl?h terrible Date: 12th century 1. inspiring horror or intense fear <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> Synonyms: see ghastly • grisliness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. (grislier, grisliest) causing horror, disgust, or fear. Derivatives: grisliness n. Etymology: OE grislic terrifying

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grisly Gris"ly, a. [OE, grisly, grislich, AS. grislic, gryslic, fr. gr?san to shudder; cf. OD. grijselick horrible, OHG. grisenl?ch, and also AS. gre?san to frighten, and E. gruesome.] Frightful; horrible; dreadful; harsh; as, grisly locks; a grisly specter. ``Grisly to behold.'' --Chaucer. A man of grisly and stern gravity. --Robynson (More's Utopia). Grisly bear. (Zo["o]l.) See under Grizzly.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(grislier, grisliest) Something that is grisly is extremely unpleasant, and usually involves death and violence. ...two horrifically grisly murders. = gruesome ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Frightful, horrible, horrid, terrific, hideous, appalling, dreadful, grim.

Moby Thesaurus

abhorrent, abominable, appalling, astounding, awe-inspiring, awesome, awful, blue, cadaverous, corpselike, deadly, deathlike, deathly, deathly pale, dire, direful, disgusting, dread, dreaded, dreadful, eerie, fell, forbidding, formidable, foul, frightful, ghastly, ghostlike, ghostly, ghoulish, gory, grim, gruesome, haggard, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, horrifying, livid, loathsome, lurid, macabre, morbid, mortuary, nasty, nauseating, offensive, pale, redoubtable, repellent, repelling, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, schrecklich, shocking, sickening, terrible, terrific, terrifying, tremendous, uncanny, unearthly, wan, weird