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grue·some

(grsəm)

adj.

Causing horror and repugnance; frightful and shocking: a gruesome murder. See Synonyms at ghastly.

[Obsolete grue, to shudder (from Middle English gruen, from Middle Dutch grūwen or Middle Low German gruwen) + -SOME¹.]

gruesome·ly adv.

gruesome·ness n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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