Webster's English Dictionary

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ghastly

ghast.ly \'gast-le-\ aj [ME gastly, fr. OE ga-stli-c spiritual] 1: 
   terrifyingly horrible to the senses  2: resembling a ghost  obs  3: 
   TERRIFIED  4: TERRIBLE {~ wreck}  5: very great {~ mistake}  suggests the 
   terrifying aspects of corpses and ghosts; GRISLY and GRUESOME suggest 
   additionally the results of extreme violence or cruelty; MACABRE implies a 
   morbid preoccupation with the physical aspects of death; LURID adds to 
   GRUESOME the suggestion of shuddering fascination with violent death and 
   esp. with murder - ghastly av SYN syn GRISLY, GRUESOME, MACABRE, LURID: 
   GHASTLY