The word "grisly" is spelled with the letters g-r-i-s-l-y. It is pronounced /ˈɡrɪzli/. The "g" is pronounced as a hard "g," like in the word "goat." The "r" is rolled or pronounced with a slight trill in some accents. The vowel sound is a short "i," like in the word "it." The "s" is pronounced as a voiceless "s" sound, like in the word "snake." The "l" represents a voiced "l" sound, like in the word "love." The final "y" is pronounced as a long "e" sound, like in the word "pee." The meaning of the word "grisly" is dreadful, gruesome or causing horror.
Grisly is an adjective used to describe something that is extremely shocking, horrifying, or repellent in nature, typically referring to scenes of violence, death, or cruelty. The word often evokes a sense of fear, disgust, or revulsion when encountering something grisly.
Derived from the Old English word "grislic," meaning "horrible," grisly is often associated with descriptions of gruesome, macabre, or grim situations. It is commonly used in relation to crimes, accidents, or depictions of violence, where the sheer brutality or explicitness can be distressing and unsettling to witness or imagine.
When something is described as grisly, it typically implies a high level of graphic detail or a profoundly disturbing quality. It evokes vivid and unsettling mental images, provoking feelings of shock, horror, or deep unease. Grisly scenes tend to involve blood, gore, mutilation, or explicit acts of violence.
The word grisly is often employed in literary, journalistic, or colloquial contexts to portray violent or horrifying situations explicitly. It can be used to describe a gruesome murder scene, a distressing event, or even a morbid description of death. In essence, grisly serves as a powerful and emotive word that captures the extreme impact of the macabre and the unspeakable.
Frightful; horrible; hideous.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
The word "grisly" originated in Middle English as "grislich", which was derived from the Old English term "grislic" or "grislīc". In Old English, "grislic" meant "dreadful" or "horrible". Later on, the word evolved in Middle English to "grisly", with a similar meaning of "frightening" or "terrifying". The term "grisly" is thought to have come from the Proto-Germanic word "grusljaz", which meant "fearful" or "terrible". Its ultimate source may be related to the Old High German "gruosen", meaning "to shudder" or "to tremble".