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Appalling vs Ghastly - What's the difference?

appalling | ghastly | Synonyms |

As adjectives the difference between appalling and ghastly

is that appalling is horrifying and astonishing while ghastly is like a ghost in appearance; deathlike; pale; pallid; dismal.

As a verb appalling

is present participle of lang=en.

As an adverb ghastly is

in a ghastly manner.

appalling

English

Verb

(head)

    • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Horrifying and astonishing.
    • That was an appalling waste of money.

    Usage notes

    * Not to be confused with appealing.

    Synonyms

    * awful, grotesque, horrid, hideous, terrible

    Derived terms

    * appallingly

    ghastly

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Like a ghost in appearance; deathlike; pale; pallid; dismal.
  • *(Samuel Taylor Coleridge) (1772-1834)
  • *:Each turned his face with a ghastly pang.
  • * (1800-1859)
  • *:His face was so ghastly that it could scarcely be recognized.
  • Horrifyingly shocking.
  • *(John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • *:Mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail.
  • *
  • *:They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.
  • Extremely bad.
  • :

    • Synonyms

    * lurid

    Adverb

    (-)
  • In a ghastly manner.
    • He turned ghastly pale on hearing the news.