1
: resembling, suggesting, or appropriate to a ghoul
a ghoulish appearance
I knew not at what moment I might plunge headlong into some terrible pit or meet with some of the ghoulish creatures that inhabit these lower worlds …—
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice BurroughsMany of their sculptures depict the ghoulish spirits … and their paternal leader, Baron Samedi, the lord of death, decay and grotesque eroticism.—Holland Cotter
Holland Cotter2
: relating to, dealing with, or morbidly delighting in things considered shocking or gruesome
ghoulish thoughts
ghoulish humor
… the grieving family asked for his help in a rather ghoulish affair.—Behn Cervantes
Behn Cervantes… his photographs present the aftermath of battles somewhat in the manner of ghoulish still lifes …—Naomi Rosenblum
Naomi RosenblumAnnie was a fine, strapping girl, and was evidently labouring under intense excitement, mingled with a certain ghoulish enjoyment of the tragedy.—Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie… he offers the reader a deliciously ghoulish potted history of absurd burial techniques.—Lawrence Osborne
Lawrence Osborne
ghoulishly
adverb
laughing ghoulishly
Lurid, violent, … morbidly sentimental and ghoulishly capricious, this is the kind of painting which grabs the modern imagination for the most dubious of reasons.
—Jonathan Keates
Jonathan Keates
ghoulishness
noun
… a zany cross between wild farce and macabre ghoulishness …
—John Percival
John Percival
Examples of ghoulish in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Tim Burton’s latest ghoulish realm will come to life this summer in an all-new interactive experience.
—Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 27 June 2024
Disneyland promises the Haunted Mansion dining room scene will once again feature a new ghoulish gingerbread house.
—Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register, 20 June 2024
Tales of abuse grew ever more extravagant and ghoulish, as prisoners described instances of outright torture: teeth knocked out, fingernails set aflame, testicles crushed.
—Lawrence Douglas, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2017
The haunting result is a fantastical brew of stop-motion animation and delightfully ghoulish surprises.
—Suelain Moy, Parents, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ghoulish 
Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 27 June 2024
Disneyland promises the Haunted Mansion dining room scene will once again feature a new ghoulish gingerbread house.
—Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register, 20 June 2024
Tales of abuse grew ever more extravagant and ghoulish, as prisoners described instances of outright torture: teeth knocked out, fingernails set aflame, testicles crushed.
—Lawrence Douglas, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2017
The haunting result is a fantastical brew of stop-motion animation and delightfully ghoulish surprises.
—Suelain Moy, Parents, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ghoulish
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ghoulish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ghoulish
Cite this Entry
“Ghoulish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghoulish. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share