Definitions
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
Word origin
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.
Used in a sentence
“Each turned his face with a ghastly pang.”
“His face was so ghastly that it could scarcely be recognized.”
“"My men grow mutinous day by day; / My men grow ghastly wan and weak." / The stout mate thought of home; a spray / Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Shockingly awful”7 letters
Not quite right?
"Search similar patterns."
G______