ghoul

noun

ˈgül 

1

: a legendary evil being that robs graves and feeds on corpses

2

: one suggestive of a ghoul

especially : one who shows morbid interest in things considered shocking or repulsive

Synonyms of ghoul

• demon
• ghost
• vampire
• devil

Examples of ghoul in a Sentence

in Arabic folklore, ghouls could change their shapes but had one unchanging feature: donkey's hooves for feet

Recent Examples on the Web

Six Flags Great America has transformed once more for its 35th Fright Fest, bringing demons, ghosts, ghouls and other things that go bump in the night to the park. — Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026

At once not quite real and all too real, Cohn has the uncanny presence of a ghoul or a fiend. — Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026

Gemma even winds up having to give a teeth cleaning to one of the silent, creepy ghouls pursuing her. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026

Practicality Viewers know Walton Goggins’ Cooper Howard as a ghoul because of radiation from a bomb dropped in 2077. — Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Arabic ghūl

First Known Use

1721, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ghoul

• boule
• brule
• buhl
• cool
• drool
• fool
• mule
• pool
• poul
• rule
• school
• spool

Kids Definition

ghoul

noun

ˈgül 

1

: an evil being of legend that robs graves and feeds on corpses

2

: a person (as a grave robber) whose activities suggest those of a ghoul

ghoulish

ˈgü-lish 

adjective

ghoulishly adverb

ghoulishness noun