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
Stephanie Guerilus, People.com, 12 June 2025
Three police officers shot in what appears to be a surprise ambush at the scene of a grisly murder.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
Patricia Krenwinkel, a former member of the notorious Manson family that carried out a series of grisly killings across Los Angeles, was granted parole, but a final decision on her freedom now rests with Gov. Gavin Newsom.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2025
Turner surely didn’t see a possible lawsuit coming as the family of Sade Robinson seeks closure in her grisly death.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 21 May 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 18 Jun. 2025.
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