ghastly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

While adamantly miserabilist, it does have a plot or at least one shocking plot point that’s so ghastly it made me giddy.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

David Wall, who has lived on the street for 44 years, said the piles of dumped black bags had contained dirty nappies, food waste and even a dead rat which caused a ghastly smell.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

His penance is to “pass, like night, from land to land,” repeating his story: “And till my ghastly tale is told, / This heart within me burns.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Kirk’s death was ghastly and contemptible, but in a media environment and country conditioned to move on, its shock is already beginning to wear off.

From Salon • Sep. 24, 2025

Half-blind, the dead unicorn stumbled toward the green rock needle until it reached a depression at its base, where it dropped to the knees of its forelegs in a ghastly parody of prayer.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman