Gräuel

German

Alternative forms

• Greuel (pre-1996)

Etymology

From Middle High German griu(we)l, from the root of grauen (“to cause terror”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡʁɔʏ̯əl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Gräuel m (strong, genitive Gräuels, plural Gräuel)

1. horror, atrocity
2. aversion, anathema

Usage notes

• The spelling Gräuel has been the prescribed spelling since the German spelling reform of 1996 (the Rechtschreibreform). In the affected areas, the previous spelling (Greuel) is now less common, and may be regarded as a misspelling.
• However, this particular reform spelling is among the less consistently followed and Greuel is still fairly frequent.

Derived terms

• Gräueltat

Related terms

• gräulich

Further reading

• “Gräuel” in Duden online
• “Gräuel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache