: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a ghost: spectral
ghostlinessnoun
ghostlyadverb
Examples of ghostly in a Sentence
A ghostly figure appears in the house at night.
Recent Examples on the WebThe new image of the glowing red structure resembling a ghostly hand is CG 4 – one of many cometary globules present within the Milky Way.—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 9 May 2024 The ghostly protagonists, Edwin (George Rexstrew) and Charles (Jayden Revri), are both teenagers bullied to death at the same British boarding school seven decades apart.—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Apr. 2024 Childhood friends and physicists Abby (Melissa McCarthy) and Erin (Kristen Wiig) team with Egon-esque engineer Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) and subway worker Patty (Leslie Jones) to prevent a ghostly apocalypse in the Big Apple.—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024 Amid all the ghostly mayhem are clear messages about family, belonging, teamwork, curiosity and perseverance.—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024 This early landmark of Swedish cinema was one of Ingmar Bergman’s favorite movies, and the influence is obvious in eerie scenes where a ghostly driver dressed like the Grim Reaper roams the countryside searching for souls.—Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024 Also joining the ghostly gang: Jenna Ortega, who worked with the filmmaker on Wednesday, and Willem Dafoe, who somehow has never crossed professional paths with Burton until now.—Ew Staff, EW.com, 5 Jan. 2024 So writes The Times’ Lila Seidman, describing the ghostly lake that formed in Death Valley following recent storms, shallow but deep enough for kayaking.—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024 However, one that has been a persistent ghostly presence is the vulnerability to brute-force attacks.—Peter Barker, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ghostly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of ghostly was
before the 12th century
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