ghoul
/ɡuːl/ (bre, ipa) · /ɡuːl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈgül/ (ame, mw)
ghoul — noun
- ghoulsingular
- ghoulsplural
1. a creature in folk tales that lives near burial places and eats the flesh of peo
a creature in folk tales that lives near burial places and eats the flesh of people who have died.
Yuna read a Korean folk tale about a ghoul that haunted the temple cemetery at midnight.
collocation: a ghoul that + verb
In the film, a hungry ghoul crawled out of the grave during the funeral.
common scene: ghoul + crawled/rose/emerged from grave
Liam dressed up as a pale, bloody ghoul for the school's Halloween party.
The novel describes a ghoul that eats the bodies of dead travellers in the desert.
Old Arabic stories warn children that ghouls hide among the tombs at night.
文法句型
a/the ghoul
用法筆記
Almost always appears in fictional, folkloric, or horror contexts; modern speakers rarely treat ghouls as real beings.
常見錯誤
2. a real person who seems strangely eager to look at, talk about, or take pleasure
a real person who seems strangely eager to look at, talk about, or take pleasure in death, accidents, or other dark events.
Rachid called the drivers ghouls for slowing down to film the burning car.
typical pattern: call/label someone a ghoul
A few internet ghouls were already posting jokes hours after the school shooting.
collocation: internet ghouls + post/share
Christopher reads murder cases over breakfast; his sister teases that he is a ghoul.
The reporter felt like a ghoul as she asked the grieving mother for a quick comment.
- rubbernecker
specifically someone who stares at accidents; ghoul is broader and stronger
- voyeur
shares the sense of unhealthy watching; voyeur often has sexual connotations, ghoul focuses on death
文法句型
a ghoul + for/about something
用法筆記
Carries strong disapproval; the speaker thinks the person's interest in death or suffering is unhealthy or disrespectful. Distinguish from sense 1 (the folklore creature) — sense 2 describes living humans behaving badly.