ghoulish

English

Etymology

From ghoul +‎ -ish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡuː.lɪʃ/

Adjective

ghoulish (comparative more ghoulish, superlative most ghoulish)

1. Of or pertaining to ghouls.
   • 1910 January 12, Ameen Rihani, “Via Dolorosa”, in The Book of Khalid, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published October 1911, →OCLC, book the first (In the Exchange), page 29:

     Ay, even the droll humour and solidity of Khalid, are shaken, aroused, by the ghoulish greed, the fell inhumanity of these sharpers.

2. Of or pertaining to corpses and graverobbing.
   • 1922, H. P. Lovecraft, Herbert West: Reanimator

     We had that afternoon dug a grave in the cellar, and would have to fill it by dawn -- for although we had fixed a lock on the house, we wished to shun even the remotest risk of a ghoulish discovery.

3. Fascinated by corpses.

Translations

of or pertaining to ghouls

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

of or pertaining to corpses and graverobbing

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

fascinated by corpses

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} makaber
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

See also

• ghastly
• macabre