ghostly
/ˈɡəʊs(t)li
/adjective (ghostlier, ghostliest)
Of or like a ghost in appearance or sound; eerie and unnatural: a frightening, ghostly figure with a hood...
- A ghostly figure appeared next to Max and stood, watching the band with him.
- Often eerie and ghostly, but always captivating, these songs simply demand your attention.
- Long gone are the days when all it took for a good fright was an unexpected ghostly face to appear onscreen.
Synonyms
ghostlike, spectral, phantom, wraithlike, phantasmal, phantasmic, unearthly, unnatural, supernatural, other-worldly, insubstantial, illusory, unreal, shadowy, eerie, weird, uncanny, mysterious, magical, mystic, strange, abnormal, freakish;
frightening, spine-chilling, hair-raising, blood-curdling, scaring, terrifying, petrifying, chilling, sinister;
Scottish eldritch
informal creepy, scary, spooky, freaky
British informal rum
Derivatives
ghostliness
/ noun ...- They are often populated by solitary horses which simultaneously transmit ghostliness and, conversely, surprising weighty presence.
- A towering perennial, which takes on a stately ghostliness by late autumn, it needs a sheltered spot away from strong winds, which might buffet the stems to breaking point.
- Their efforts to make meaningful their cultural memories of their ancestral land often result in crises that awaken them to the ghostliness of their identities as Asian Americans.
Origin
Old English gāstlic, from gāst 'ghost'.