Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1700-1800
Language: Arabic
Origin: ghul, from ghala 'to seize'

ghoul

 noun
     
ghoul [countable]
1 an evil spirit in stories that takes bodies from graves (=place in the ground where dead people are buried) and eats them
2 someone who gets pleasure from unpleasant things such as accidents that shock other people
—ghoulish adjective
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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