as in demons
an evil spirit
in Arabic folklore, ghouls could change their shapes but had one unchanging feature: donkey's hooves for feet
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Recent Examples of ghouls
Created by a number of its stars, Ghosts originated on the BBC in 2019, following a group of ghouls from different historical periods haunting a country house while sharing the house with its new living occupants.
—
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 25 Mar. 2026
Now working as a stocker, Ash accidentally unleashes undead ghouls after reading from the Necronomicon, forcing him to take up his chainsaw yet again to save humanity from the Deadites.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026
Here was music that pushed the genre back to the realm of ghosts and ghouls, the ideal soundtrack for doing battle with Dracula on the spiral staircase of his manor.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 17 Feb. 2026
Even a half-century later, the undead ghouls that descend upon survivors in a Pennsylvania farm house are timeless and the gut-punch ending couldn't be more timely.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
With Adam Roberts announcing the tempos on the baby grand piano, the ghouls in Tevye’s nightmare emerge from around the fourposter.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 4 Feb. 2026
In his masterful first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, ghouls and spirits keep chattering away, as if at a corner barbershop, while Abraham Lincoln mourns his dead 11-year-old son, Willie.
—Pico Iyer, Air Mail, 24 Jan. 2026
Its lead character is Harry Dresden, a professional wizard operating out of the city of Chicago in a world where ghouls, ghosts, werewolves and vampires exist in the shadows of modern society.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 21 Jan. 2026
No disrespect to Purnell, who perfectly calibrated Lucy’s intrinsic hopefulness in the first season and slowly begins to curdle it this go-round as Lucy spends more time among ghouls, raiders, cannibals, and various other feuding factions.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 25 Mar. 2026
Now working as a stocker, Ash accidentally unleashes undead ghouls after reading from the Necronomicon, forcing him to take up his chainsaw yet again to save humanity from the Deadites.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026
Here was music that pushed the genre back to the realm of ghosts and ghouls, the ideal soundtrack for doing battle with Dracula on the spiral staircase of his manor.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 17 Feb. 2026
Even a half-century later, the undead ghouls that descend upon survivors in a Pennsylvania farm house are timeless and the gut-punch ending couldn't be more timely.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
With Adam Roberts announcing the tempos on the baby grand piano, the ghouls in Tevye’s nightmare emerge from around the fourposter.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 4 Feb. 2026
In his masterful first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, ghouls and spirits keep chattering away, as if at a corner barbershop, while Abraham Lincoln mourns his dead 11-year-old son, Willie.
—Pico Iyer, Air Mail, 24 Jan. 2026
Its lead character is Harry Dresden, a professional wizard operating out of the city of Chicago in a world where ghouls, ghosts, werewolves and vampires exist in the shadows of modern society.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 21 Jan. 2026
No disrespect to Purnell, who perfectly calibrated Lucy’s intrinsic hopefulness in the first season and slowly begins to curdle it this go-round as Lucy spends more time among ghouls, raiders, cannibals, and various other feuding factions.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ghouls
Noun
-
As Amadeus’ brilliance continues to flourish in spite of his personal demons, a questionable reputation and scepticism from the conservative court, Salieri becomes increasingly tormented by this apparent divine gift.—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2026
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But when demons threaten to destroy the City of Immortals, her former lord Indra begs her to return—or else lose both Kaushika and her identity as an apsara.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Then, in an act of generosity, Isaac gifts Jay’s recliner to the basement ghosts.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
1 Apr. 2026
-
That’s how ghosts come to haunt a place.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Vanessa Van Helsing wakes up from a coma to discover that a volcanic eruption has blotted out the sun, letting vampires prey 24/7.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The freshman series focused on a secretive society called the Talamasca, composed of the men and women responsible for tracking and containing the witches, vampires, and other creatures scattered around the globe.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Other propaganda compared Native people to buffalo, cats, dogs, and devils.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
-
There are sounds and shadows in the forest; the Devil, or devils, may be walking the earth.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ghouls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ghouls. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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