D. H. Lawrence
Did you know?
An angry grizzly bear could certainly inspire fear, so grizzly and grisly must be related, right? Grizzly comes from the Middle English adjective grisel, meaning "gray." Like its close relative grizzled, grizzly means "sprinkled or streaked with gray." In other words, the grizzly bear got its name because the hairs of its brownish to buff coat usually have silver or pale tips, creating a grizzled effect, not because it causes terror. Grisly is related to Old English grislic, which comes from a verb meaning "to fear" and which gives grisly its "terrifying" sense.
Examples of grisly in a Sentence
Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2025
When the news first spread through the Burning Man rumor mill, the first reaction seemed to be confusion — rumors there are supposed to be about whether Daft Punk is playing at the trash fence or a major art piece burn has been rescheduled, not a grisly death.
—Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
The August grisly murder of Ukrainian emigre Iryna Zarutska seemed to capture the media for a day.
—Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner, 13 Sep. 2025
During his arraignment first in District Court and then Superior Court, prosecutors read a series of grisly internet searches done on an iPad found in the home.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grisly
Cite this Entry
“Grisly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grisly. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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