ghoulishness.html - n.
1 a person morbidly interested in death etc.
2 an evil spirit or phantom.
3 a spirit in Muslim folklore preying on corpses.

ghoulish adj. ghoulishly adv. ghoulishness n. [Arab. gul protean desert demon]

ghoulishness.html - n.
1 a person morbidly interested in death etc.
2 an evil spirit or phantom.
3 a spirit in Muslim folklore preying on corpses.

ghoulish adj. ghoulishly adv. ghoulishness n. [Arab. gul protean desert demon]

ghoulishness.html - See: GIVE UP THE GHOST.

ghoulishness.html - Least trace of; slightest resemblance to; smallest bit even of; a very little. Usually used with "chance" or "idea" in negative sentences, or with "smile". * /There wasn't a ghost of a chance that Jack would win./ * /We didn't have the ghost of an idea where to look for John./ * /The teacher scolded Harold for drawing a funny picture on the chalkboard, but she had a ghost of a smile./ Compare: FAT CHANCE.

ghoulishness.html - {n.} A writer whose identity remains a secret and who writes for another who receives all the credit. * /It is rumored that John Smith's best-selling novel was written by a ghost-writer./

ghoulishness.html - n. & v.
--n.

1 the supposed apparition of a dead person or animal; a disembodied spirit.
2 a shadow or mere semblance (not a ghost of a chance).
3 an emaciated or pale person.
4 a secondary or duplicated image produced by defective television reception or by a telescope.
5 archaic a spirit or soul.

--v.

1 intr. (often foll. by for) act as ghost-writer.
2 tr. act as ghost-writer of (a work).

ghost town a deserted town with few or no remaining inhabitants. ghost-write v.tr. & intr. act as ghost-writer (of). ghost-writer a person who writes on behalf of the credited author of a work.

ghostlike adj. [OE gast f. WG: gh- occurs first in Caxton, prob. infl. by Flem. gheest]