ghoul /ɡuːl/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1700-1800; Language: Arabic; Origin: ghul, from ghala 'to seize']

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

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲