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Glite Dictionary
ghoulishly

ghoulishly

1 9.3
In a cruel way that shows pleasure at other people's pain
  • adverb
  • /ˈɡuːlɪʃli/
  • NSFW
translation icon : macabramente
  • Hawk escapes from one of his straps and launches a nearby trayful of syringes into Antony's face, where they ghoulishly quiver.

Examples

  • The children laughed ghoulishly as they watched the horror movie's most shocking scenes.

  • The thought made Austin laugh ghoulishly.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Adams has made a not-so-savory name for himself for ghoulishly (and gleefully) taking advantage of the death of celebrities in order to blame "conventional" medicine for having killed them.

    Blog text (29)

  • That includes people like former Clinton White House functionary Erskine Bowles, who ghoulishly described this artificial crisis as a "magic moment" to impose austerity measures on the American people.

    Blog text (14)

  • She howled ghoulishly and tried to tear through the bare hedge while Mr. Crocus yelled and slapped her with her leash's leather handle.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • She ghoulishly reveled in the gruesome details of the crime story unfolding on the news.

  • During the haunted house tour, the actors ghoulishly jumped out to scare the guests.

Synonyms

morbidly
vsghoulishly
12 7.9

In a way that shows an unhealthy interest in death or illness

expresses enjoyment of horror and others' pain rather than mere interest
gruesomely
vsghoulishly
  • NSFW
2 6.9

In a way that shocks and disgusts people

shows cruel pleasure in others' pain rather than only causing disgust

Antonyms

joyfully
11 1.1

In a very happy way that shows delight

lightheartedly
1 3.7

In a cheerful, relaxed way without worry

How Morbid

horrifyingly
3 6.7
gruesomely
  • NSFW
2 6.9
ghoulishly
  • NSFW
1 9.3
eerily
30 6.8
oddly
150 3.4

Surface Forms

ghoulishly positive
ghoulishlier comparative
ghoulishliest superlative

Morphology

ghoulishly = ghoulish (transparent) = ghoul + ish + ly

The adverb is formed by adding the productive adverbial suffix '-ly' to the adjective 'ghoulish', whose meaning is transparently derived from 'ghoul' + '-ish'.

Etymology

The word ghoulishly comes from ghoul, a creature once said to eat the dead, and that comes from Arabic ghul meaning 'an evil spirit'. So to act ghoulishly is to behave in a scary or cruel way, often showing a strange pleasure in horror or other people's pain.