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# ghastly

adjective (ghastly, ghastlier, ghastliest)

«ghastly» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Very bad, horrible or unpleasant. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#m1)
2. Shocking and frightening, like something terrible to see. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#m2)
3. Very pale and ill-looking, like a ghost. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#m3)
4. (informal, UK) Awful, as in «a ghastly mistake», «ghastly weather». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#m4)

### In the lessons

A strong descriptive word, both in scary stories (a ghastly face, a ghastly scream) and in everyday British talk (ghastly food, ghastly weather). It tells readers that something is dreadful or that someone looks deathly pale.

### Examples

- The school dinner was ghastly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#x1)
- We had ghastly weather on holiday. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#x2)
- A ghastly scream came from the cellar. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#x3)
- He looked ghastly after being seasick. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#x4)
- I've made a ghastly mistake! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#x5)
- Toad thought the prison food was ghastly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#x6)
- The weasels let out a ghastly howl as the friends burst in. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/#x7)

### Note

Adjective; comparative ghastlier, superlative ghastliest. Pronounced GAHST-lee (UK) or GAST-lee (US); the h is silent. It looks like an adverb (-ly) but is an adjective. Linked in meaning to «ghost» (both from an old word for spirit).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «ghastly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/ghastly/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«ghastly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/ghastly.html) on Mova free.