gruesome

Meaning

Repellently frightful and shocking; horrific or ghastly.

Synonyms

horrible

ghastly

hideous

awful

terrible

dreadful

abhorrent

abominable

grisly

nasty

abysmal

macabre

detestable

vile

atrocious

loathsome

accursed

lurid

appalling

grim

alien

👽

horrific

foul

terrifying

repellent

horrid

lousy

low

lowlife

fearsome

horrendous

repulsive

creepy

sick

🤢

sleazy

gory

gross

extremely weird

incredibly brutal

dredful

godawful

abject

awing

base

cruel

depraved

despicable

dire

direful

disgusting

Translations

ijselijk

afschuwelijk

horroroso

afgrijselijk

horrible

orribile

atrox

aversabilis

abominabilis

abominable

verfoeilijk

abominável

orrendo

gräßlich

verabscheuenswert

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɡɹuːsʌm/

Etymology

Cognate with Danish: -

Cognate with Norwegian: -

Cognate with German: grausam

Cognate with Dutch: gruwzaam

In summary

From grue (“to shudder”) + -some. Compare Danish and Norwegian grusom (“cruel; horrible”), German grausam (“cruel”), and Dutch gruwzaam (“gruesome; cruel”).