as in gruesome
extremely disturbing or repellent
the police report described the murder scene in grisly detail
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grisly
Some favoring a hunt cited the grisly death of an 89-year-old man, killed and partially eaten this month along with his dog by a 263-pound bear in Collier County in southwest Florida.
—
Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 May 2025
For instance, Lea Wait’s mass-market crime novel Shadows at the Spring Show, published in 2005, goes so far as to make anger over the transracial adoption the motive for a string of grisly murders in a small town.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 23 Apr. 2025
Tamaulipas is also the site of two of the most grisly massacres in recent Mexican history — the slayings of at least 265 U.S.-bound migrants in two separate mass killings more than a decade ago in the municipality of San Fernando.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
There was that dangerous and engrossing luxury hotel chain, a rebellious underground faction, the ultimate high-stress hospital and, just this weekend, the harrowing second chapter in a post-apocalyptic fungal zombie tale came to a grisly conclusion.
—Dan Heching, CNN Money, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for grisly
Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 May 2025
For instance, Lea Wait’s mass-market crime novel Shadows at the Spring Show, published in 2005, goes so far as to make anger over the transracial adoption the motive for a string of grisly murders in a small town.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 23 Apr. 2025
Tamaulipas is also the site of two of the most grisly massacres in recent Mexican history — the slayings of at least 265 U.S.-bound migrants in two separate mass killings more than a decade ago in the municipality of San Fernando.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
There was that dangerous and engrossing luxury hotel chain, a rebellious underground faction, the ultimate high-stress hospital and, just this weekend, the harrowing second chapter in a post-apocalyptic fungal zombie tale came to a grisly conclusion.
—Dan Heching, CNN Money, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for grisly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grisly
Adjective
-
But Trump and Epstein’s association has been out in the open for nearly a quarter century; nineties-era footage of the gruesome twosome together at Mar-a-Lago, leering at a group of young cheerleaders, has been circulating since at least 2019.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
6 June 2025
-
Six decades later, Hamas would engage in a gruesome competition with Fatah to outdo one another with terrorist attacks during the 1990s and early 2000s.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
6 June 2025
Adjective
-
That this horrific upheaval comes care of Lucy’s work is the real kicker.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
9 June 2025
-
This is what Qasem Hassan had feared from the start—that the horrific violence inflicted on Israelis on October 7th would be used to justify a war without limits, dehumanizing all Palestinians.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
Adjective
-
But then what looked like a tap-in par on the long par-three eighth turned into a shocking miss.—
Doug Ferguson,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2025
-
When Burns bogeyed the par-3 16th, missing an eight-foot par putt that seemed shocking for a player whose play on the greens had been incredible all week, Spaun saved par with a clutch second shot that put him five feet from the cup.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
14 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grisly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grisly. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share