ghastly

/ˈɡɑːs(t).li/

//ˈɡɑːs(t).li// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ghastly" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ghastly” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,441. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,441
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid; dismal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ghastly · ghastly · English

ghastly · rank #26,441 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #26,441
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH Gia

Nearest frequency peer: Gia (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “ghastly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “ghastly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ghastly vs ghostly
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ghastly
PropertyValue
Headwordghastly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɡɑːs(t).li/
Letters7
Frequency rank#26,441
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ghastly”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ghastlylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Gia” (#26,442), “gan” (#26,439), “Gonzalo” (#26,443). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “ghastly” is #26,441. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around ghastly (IPA /ˈɡɑːs(t).li/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #26,441 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for ghastly, with forms such as "gahstly", "gghastly", and "ghaslty". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "ghostly", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a conflation of gastly, from Middle English gastly, from gasten (from Old English gǣstan (“to torment, frighten”)) + -ly, and ghostly (which was also spelt gastlich in Middle English). Equivalent to ghast/gast + -ly. Spelling with gh developed in the 1… The correct English form is ghastly, spelled G-H-A-S-T-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid; dismal.
  2. 2
    Horrifyingly shocking.
  3. 3
    Extremely bad.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ghastly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Each turned his face with a ghastly pang.
  2. His face was so ghastly that it could scarcely be recognized.

Etymology

From a conflation of gastly, from Middle English gastly, from gasten (from Old English gǣstan (“to torment, frighten”)) + -ly, and ghostly (which was also spelt gastlich in Middle English). Equivalent to ghast/gast + -ly. Spelling with gh developed in the 16th century due to the conflation.

Synonyms

luridgrislygruesome

This word in other languages

fantasmal(Español)blafard(Français)geisterhaft(Deutsch)assustador(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • gahstly
  • gghastly
  • ghaslty
  • ghasstly
  • ghastlly
  • ghastlyy
  • ghasttly
  • ghastyl
  • ghatsly
  • ghhastly
  • ghsatly
  • hgastly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ghastly - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

gahstly2gghastly1ghaslty2ghasstly1ghastlly1ghastlyy1ghasttly1ghastyl2
Edit distance from "ghastly"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ghastly"?
"ghastly" is spelled G-H-A-S-T-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɑːs(t).li/.
What does "ghastly" mean?
As an adjective, "ghastly" means: Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid; dismal.
What words are commonly confused with "ghastly"?
"ghastly" is commonly confused with "ghostly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ghastly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ghastly" is /ˈɡɑːs(t).li/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ghastly"?
From a conflation of gastly, from Middle English gastly, from gasten (from Old English gǣstan (“to torment, frighten”)) + -ly, and ghostly (which was also spelt gastlich in Middle English). Equivalent to ghast/gast + -ly. Spelling with gh develope... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ghastly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Gonzalo#26,443gymnast#26,449Fourier#26,432handset#26,453

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

harrowing12 variantsfoothold12 variantshorseman12 variantshumanist12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list