lurid

adjective

lu·rid ˈlu̇r-əd

Synonyms of lurid next

: causing horror or revulsion : gruesome

The tabloids gave all the lurid details of floating wreckage and dismembered bodies.

: melodramatic, sensational

also : shocking

paperbacks in the usual lurid covers —

T. R. Fyvel

: wan and ghastly pale in appearance

frightened to death by the lurid waxworks—

Sara H. Hay

: of any of several light or medium grayish colors ranging in hue from yellow to orange

: shining with the red glow of fire seen through smoke or cloud

lurid flames

luridly adverb

luridness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for lurid

ghastly, grisly, gruesome, macabre, lurid mean horrifying and repellent in appearance or aspect.

ghastly suggests the terrifying aspects of corpses and ghosts.

a ghastly accident

grisly and gruesome suggest additionally the results of extreme violence or cruelty.

an unusually grisly murder

suffered a gruesome death

macabre implies a morbid preoccupation with the physical aspects of death.

a macabre tale of premature burial

lurid adds to gruesome the suggestion of shuddering fascination with violent death and especially with murder.

the lurid details of a crime

Example Sentences

a lurid tale of violence and betrayal the lurid lighting of a nightclub The light from the fire cast a lurid glow on everything.

Recent Examples on the Web While these remain uncorroborated, the increasingly lurid picture caused Shochiku to issue another statement on Monday. —

Mark Schilling, Variety, 25 May 2023 If those fears moved the network to promote the plot served up by Trump stalwarts Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, though, Carlson was among the Fox hosts and executives who privately rolled their eyes at the lurid theory. —

Erik Larson, Bloomberg.com, 13 Apr. 2023 Return to menu For many in the United States who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, talk shows were their lurid introduction to the idea of trans people. —

Anne Branigin, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2023 Cloverfield came out in a January, and so did M. Night Shyamalan's lurid return to form Split; Paddington was a Capricorn baby, twice. —

Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 12 Jan. 2023 Blonde, a Pulitzer finalist and unsparing, self-conscious attempt at a great American novel, sets out to fictionalize the entire life of the star, also at a type of distance, beginning with Monroe’s traumatic childhood and ending in her lurid murder by an FBI sharpshooter. —

Sophie Lewis, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022 According to experts, there are plenty of factors that help draw us to these lurid locales. —

Carla Delgado, Discover Magazine, 13 Oct. 2022 This series, from WNYC’s Nancy Solomon, centers on a 2014 murder that sounds like the plot of a lurid mystery novel. —

Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2022 The film tries to have it both ways, criticizing the media’s lurid fascination with Smith’s loud life while celebrating it at the same time. —

Courtney Howard, Variety, 15 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lurid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.