GRISLY | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/grislyPrivate View extremely unpleasant, especially because death or blood is involved: The 55-year-old Canadian had suffered a grisly death. a grisly murder. Synonyms. gruesome. macabre. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Serious and unpleasant. abominable. abominably. abysmally. apocalyptic. fraught. frightful. from hell idiom. fun. ghastliness.