Meanings
comparative more ghastful · superlative most ghastful · alternative gastful · alternative gashful
- archaicCausing fear; terrifying.
Very desolate was that valley, having a dark aspect and a ghastful, such as a man might look for in the infernal glens of Pyriphlegethon or Acheron.
1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, chapter 174, in The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC - archaicTerrified, frightened.
Th' Almighty anſwers — "I my ſelf will place "The dreadful Stains of Murther on the Face, "That all may ſhun thy Crimes and Fate. — He ſaid, The Caitiff heard, with ghaſtful Looks he fled.
1716, Samuel Wesley, The history of the Old and New Testament attempted in verse, page 13
Origin
- Middle Englishgastful
- Englishghastful
From Middle English gastful, equivalent to ghast + -ful. See ghastly.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ghastful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghastful
“ghastful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghastful. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ghastful,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghastful.
Source: ghastful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.