English Explanatory Dictionary

ghostly

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Of or pertaining to ghosts or spirits.
  2. Spooky; frightening.
  3. Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual.

Pronunciation

/ˈɡoʊstli/ en-us-ghostly.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Qwertygiy-ghostly.wav

Word forms

ghostly ghostlier ghostliest

Etymology

From Middle English gostly, gastlich, from Old English gāstlīċ (“spiritual, holy, clerical (not lay), ghastly, ghostly, spectral”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaistalīk (“spiritual”), equivalent to ghost + -ly. Cognate with Scots ghaistly, gaistly (“spiritual, ghastly, terrifying”), West Frisian geastlik (“spiritual, clerical, religious”), Dutch geestelijk (“spiritual, clerical, ecclesiastical”), German geistlich (“spiritual, sacred, religious”), Danish geistlig (“ecclesiastical, clerical”).

Synonyms

apparitional ghastly ghostish ghostlike ghostly phantomic phantomlike phantasmal phantasmic spectral spooky wraithlike wraithy affreux alarming spine-tingling appalling awful eldritch buggish butt-clenching buttock-clenching dismayful dreadful fearful flaysome flesh-crawling formidable freaky frightening frightensome frightful grisly hair-curling hair-raising horrible horrid horrific horrifying horripilating pulse-pounding scaring scary shocking skin-crawling terrible terrifying terrorsome

Related words

ghastly demonic demonical fiendish

Derived words

ghostlily ghostliness ghostly father nonghostly unghostly
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