English Explanatory Dictionary

grisly

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Horrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying.
  2. Obsolete form of grizzly.
  3. Misspelling of gristly.
noun
  1. Obsolete form of grizzly (“type of bear”).
adv
  1. In a horrible or terrible manner; in a terrifying way.

Pronunciation

/ˈɡɹɪzli/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-grisly.wav

Word forms

grisly grislier grisliest griesly grislie grislies more grisly most grisly

Etymology

From Middle English grisely, grysly, grissliȝ, griselich, grislich, from Old English grisliċ (“grisly, horrible; dreadful, horrid”), from grīsan (“to shudder with horror; to tremble, to be terrified; to make tremble, to terrify; to agrise, grise”) (unattested but implied in āgrīsan) + -lic (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘characteristic of, pertaining to’). The word may also be an aphetic form of Old English ongrislic, agrisenliċ, the past participle of agrīsan (“to agrise”). Compare Danish grusom, Swedish gräslig, Middle Dutch grezelijc (modern Dutch griezelig), Middle High German grisenlich (modern German grässlich, grausen).

Synonyms

grisy gristly grizzly affreux alarming spine-tingling appalling awful eldritch buggish butt-clenching buttock-clenching dismayful dreadful fearful flaysome flesh-crawling formidable freaky frightening frightensome frightful ghastly ghostly grisly hair-curling hair-raising horrible horrid horrific horrifying horripilating pulse-pounding scaring scary shocking skin-crawling terrible terrifying terrorsome grey-headed grizzled hoary gray / grey gray-headed / grey-headed grey-haired / gray-haired mouldy silver-haired silvery-haired white-haired grimly horribly terribly

Related words

grise

Derived words

grislily grisliness ungrisly
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