ghastly
Horrible, shocking or very unpleasant.
ghastly in a sentence
- A ghastly smell of rotten eggs drifted from the science lab, and everyone held their noses.
- The dressing-up box held a ghastly rubber mask so horrible that even Dad refused to wear it.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to ghastly?
- Ahorrible
- Bdelightful
- Clovely
- Dpleasant
Show the answer
A: horrible. The other three mean the opposite of ghastly.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to ghastly?
- Adreadful
- Bhorrible
- Cawful
- Dlovely
Show the answer
D: lovely. The other three mean nearly the same as ghastly.
Words that mean something similar
horrible, dreadful, awful
Words that mean the opposite
lovely, pleasant, delightful
More words about appearance & looks
- gnarled: Twisted, knobbly and rough, like a very old tree.
- grimace: To twist your face because of pain or disgust.
- grotesque: Strange and ugly in a way that is frightening or silly.
- haggard: Looking very tired and worn out.
- identical: Exactly the same in every way.
- illegible: So messy that it cannot be read.
- immaculate: Perfectly clean and tidy.
- impeccable: So perfect that not a single fault can be found.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test