grisly
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grisly¹
- /ˈɡɹɪzli/ US, UK
Sounds like grizzly · Rhymes with -ɪzli
Where it comes from
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).
adjective grislier · grisliest · griesly · grislie
-
Horrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying.
The photographs of the killings depict a grisly scene.
Similar: grisy, gristly, grizzly, affreux, alarming, spine-tingling, appalling, awful, eldritch, buggish, butt-clenching, buttock-clenching
-
Obsolete form of grizzly
old squirrels that turn grisly
Similar: grey-headed, grizzled, hoary, gray / grey, gray-headed / grey-headed, grey-haired / gray-haired, grisly, grizzly, mouldy, silver-haired, silvery-haired, white-haired
- Misspelling of gristly
noun grislies
- Obsolete form of grizzly (“type of bear”).
grisly²
- /ˈɡɹɪzli/ US, UK
Sounds like grizzly · Rhymes with -ɪzli
Where it comes from
From grisle (“horror, terror”) + -ly; compare Middle Dutch griselike, Middle Low German grislike.
adverb more grisly · most grisly
- In a horrible or terrible manner; in a terrifying way. [A] very fair young gentlewoman [Sir Roger Wentworth's daughter], of twelve years of age, in marvellous manner vexed and tormented by our ghostly enemy, the devil, her mind alienated and raving, with despising and blaspheming of God, and hatred of all hallowed things, […] finally being brought and l
Translations
Every language
adj horrifyingly repellent; terrifying, gruesome
| Español | macabro, horripilante, repugnante, espantoso, espeluznante |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 恐ろしい osoroshī |
| Português | arrepiante, horrível |
| Français | épouvantable |
| Deutsch | grässlich |
| Ελληνικά | φοβερός foverós, φριχτός frichtós |
| Русский | отврати́тельный otvratítelʹnyj |
Talk about this word "grisly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/grisly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. grisly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/grisly "grisly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/grisly.Cite this
@misc{grisly_2026,
title = {grisly},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/grisly},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
