ghoul
/ɡuːl
/noun
1An evil spirit or phantom, especially one supposed to rob graves and feed on dead bodies.Ghosts, ghouls, and spirits floated about and chatted with old friends, vampires lurked frighteningly close, and werewolves paced from along the walls....
- A slight shudder slid over him, footsteps on his grave, a shadowy ghoul with its gargoyle grin threatening to exhume long-buried corpses.
- The ghoul's upper body split into two pieces with a cracking and splintering of bone.
2A person morbidly interested in death or disaster.I see them as ghouls preying on the death and misery of other people to earn money and fame or convert others to their silly superstitions.
Origin
Late 18th century: from Arabic ġūl, a desert demon believed to rob graves and devour corpses.
Ghoul is from Arabic ġūl, a desert demon believed to rob graves and devour corpses.
Rhymes
- preteriteness
- preterite perfect
- preterite-present
- preterition
- preteritive
- preteritive present
- preterito-presentia
- preterit perfect
- preterit-present
- preterm
- preterminal
- pretermission
- pretermit
- preternatural
- preternaturalism
- preternaturalist
- preternaturality
- preternaturally
- preternaturalness
- preternature
- preterperfect
- preterrestrial
- preter-royal
- pretersensual
- pretersensuous