Word Nerd Alert: Lurid

November 10, 2026 1 min read

Adjective · \ˈlu̇r-əd\

causing horror or revulsion; gruesome

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

melodramatic, sensational

wan and ghastly pale in appearance

“… frightened to death by the lurid waxworks …”

Roots

Latin luridus pale yellow, sallow

Close cousins

bright, violent, sensational, shocking, colorless, colourless

First known use

1603

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