ghostly

G2H4O1S1T1L1Y4
US/ˈɡoʊstli/

adjective

Of or pertaining to ghosts or spirits.

“a ghostly confessor”

Similar
affreuxalarmingspine-tinglingappallingawfuleldritchbuggishbutt-clenching
OriginMiddle English gostly ← Old English gāstlīċ ← Proto-West Germanic *gaistalīk →
Less commonScrabble 14
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Meanings

adjectiveghostly (comparative ghostlier, superlative ghostliest)

comparative ghostlier · superlative ghostliest

  1. Of or pertaining to ghosts or spirits.

    a ghostly figure with a hood

    2 more examples

    The graveyard was haunted by a ghostly figure of a young girl.

    The ghostly moaning was heard from upstairs.

  2. Spooky; frightening.

    A ghostly hush fell.

    2 more examples

    Scores of coconut-shell fires blazed with their characteristic glaring white flame, throwing grotesque shadows on the brown thatched huts, dancing in fairylike shimmerings among the domes of coconut fronds, casting ghostly reaches of light through the adjacent graveyards, and silhouetting the forms of pareu-clad natives at work cleaning their fish or laying them on the live coals to broil.

    1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 35

    His lips were chapped and lined with a ghostly purple fringe.

    2019, Dave Eggers, The Parade, N.Y.: Vintage Books, page 134

    Synonyms: affreux, alarming, spine-tingling, appalling, awful, eldritch, buggish, butt-clenching

  3. archaicRelating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual.

    a ghostly confessor

    2 more examples

    Save and defend us from our ghostly enemies.

    1549 March 7, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, The Booke of the Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacramentes, […], London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […], →OCLC

    one of the ghostly children of St. Jerome

    1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveSpooky; frightening.

Similar
affreuxalarmingspine-tinglingappallingawfuleldritchbuggishbutt-clenchingbuttock-clenchingdismayfuldreadfulfearfulflaysomeflesh-crawlingformidablefreakyfrighteningfrightensomefrightfulghastly
Similar
apparitionalghostishghostlikephantomicphantomlikephantasmalphantasmicspectralspookywraithlikewraithy

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveresembling or characteristic of a phantom

Similar
apparitionalghostlikephantasmalspectralspiritualsupernatural
Also see
apparitionalfrighteningghostlikephantasmalspectralspiritualsupernatural

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-West Germanic*gaistalīk“spiritual”
  2. Old Englishgāstlīċ“spiritual, holy, clerical (not lay), ghastly, ghostly, spectral”
  3. Middle Englishgostly
  4. Englishghostly

From Middle English gostly, gastlich, from Old English gāstlīċ (“spiritual, holy, clerical (not lay), ghastly, ghostly, spectral”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaistalīk (“spiritual”), equivalent to ghost + -ly. Cognate with Scots ghaistly, gaistly (“spiritual, ghastly, terrifying”), West Frisian geastlik (“spiritual, clerical, religious”), Dutch geestelijk (“spiritual, clerical, ecclesiastical”), German geistlich (“spiritual, sacred, religious”), Danish geistlig (“ecclesiastical, clerical”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bengali ভৌতিক
  • ভৌতিক (bhōutik)pertaining to ghosts
Bulgarian призрачен, плашещ
  • призрачен (prizračen)pertaining to ghosts
  • плашещ (plašešt)spooky, frightening
  • призрачен (prizračen)spooky, frightening
Catalan fantasmal
  • fantasmalpertaining to ghosts
Esperanto fantoma
  • fantomapertaining to ghosts
Estonian tontlik
  • tontlikpertaining to ghosts
Finnish aavemainen
  • aavemainenpertaining to ghosts
French fantomatique
  • fantomatiquepertaining to ghosts
Greek πνευματικός, άυλος
  • πνευματικός (pnevmatikós)pertaining to ghosts
  • άυλος (áylos)pertaining to ghosts
  • στοιχειωμένος (stoicheioménos)spooky, frightening
Hindi भुतहा, भुतहा
  • भुतहा (bhuthā)pertaining to ghosts
  • भुतहा (bhuthā)spooky, frightening
Hungarian kísérteties
  • kísértetiespertaining to ghosts
Icelandic draugalegur
  • draugalegurpertaining to ghosts
Irish taibhsiúil, taibhsiúil
  • taibhsiúilpertaining to ghosts
  • taibhsiúilspooky, frightening
Italian spettrale, fantasmatico
  • spettralepertaining to ghosts
  • fantasmaticopertaining to ghosts
  • spiriticopertaining to ghosts
Korean 유령의
  • 유령의 (yuryeong'ui)pertaining to ghosts
Latin spectralis, phantasmalis
  • spectralispertaining to ghosts
  • phantasmalispertaining to ghosts
Polish widmowy, zmorowaty
  • widmowypertaining to ghosts
  • zmorowatypertaining to ghosts
  • upiornyspooky, frightening
Portuguese fantasmagórico, fantasmagórico
  • fantasmagóricopertaining to ghosts
  • fantasmagóricospooky, frightening
Russian при́зрачный
  • при́зрачный (prízračnyj)pertaining to ghosts
Scottish Gaelic taibhseil, taibhseil
  • taibhseilpertaining to ghosts
  • taibhseilspooky, frightening
Spanish fantasmal
  • fantasmalpertaining to ghosts

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with ghostly

mostly
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

ghostly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghostly

MLA

“ghostly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghostly. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ghostly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghostly.

Source: ghostly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.