lurid
Tabloid headline style
Lurid describes things that are sensationalized, shocking, or gruesome—especially in ways meant to fascinate or horrify: lurid tabloid headlines, the lurid details of the crime.
The word often suggests a morbid or prurient appeal.
Lurid can also describe an unnaturally vivid or harsh glow: the lurid orange of the wildfire sky.
Full of bloodshed
- graphicVividly detailed or visual
- macabreDisturbing, death-obsessed
- ghastlyTerrifyingly horrible or pale
- grislyShockingly horrific
horrific · disturbing · bloody · violent · grotesque · visceral · brutal · explicit
Morally offensive or shocking
- tabloidSensationalist newspaper format
- shockingCausing intense surprise
- salaciousLewdly interested in intimacy
- titillatingPleasurably stimulating, often sensually
provocative · exploitative · prurient · racy · sleazy · trashy · pulpy · yellow journalism
Tastelessly ornate
- flashyShowy, often tastelessly so
- showyExcessively eye-catching
- ostentatiousShowily excessive
- tackyVulgar or slightly sticky
loud · clashing · kitschy · overdone · glitzy · splashy · brash · vulgar
Lacking color intensity
- wanPale and unwell-looking
- pallidUnhealthily lacking color
- deathlyResembling the grave
- cadaverousResembling the deceased
ghostly · ashen · sallow · waxy · livid · blanched · spectral · haggard
Harshly conspicuous or bright
- fieryIntensely hot or passionate
- blazingBurning very brightly
- flamingOn fire, or online attacks
- harshUnpleasantly severe or rough
livid · intense · burning · incandescent · phosphorescent · fluorescent · unnatural · otherworldly
gory
Full of bloodshed
- graphicVividly detailed or visual
- macabreDisturbing, death-obsessed
- ghastlyTerrifyingly horrible or pale
grisly · horrific · disturbing · bloody · violent · grotesque · visceral · brutal · explicit · morbid
scandalous
Morally offensive or shocking
- tabloidSensationalist newspaper format
- shockingCausing intense surprise
- salaciousLewdly interested in intimacy
titillating · provocative · exploitative · prurient · racy · sleazy · trashy · pulpy · yellow journalism · tell-all
gaudy
Tastelessly ornate
- flashyShowy, often tastelessly so
- showyExcessively eye-catching
- ostentatiousShowily excessive
tacky · loud · clashing · kitschy · overdone · glitzy · splashy · brash · vulgar · jarring
pale
Lacking color intensity
cadaverous · ghostly · ashen · sallow · waxy · livid · blanched · spectral · haggard · corpselike
glaring
Harshly conspicuous or bright
harsh · livid · intense · burning · incandescent · phosphorescent · fluorescent · unnatural · otherworldly · hellish
- horrorhorror, terror, fear, dread, haunted
- disgustdisgust, disgusting, disgusted, revulsion, repulsion
- scandalscandal, infamy, disgrace, coverup, cover-up
- scary feelingsterrified, frightening, dreadful, creepiness, goosebumps
- macabrecorpse, corpses, skull, skulls, skeleton
- schlockschlock, schlocky, trash, junk, dreck
luridrestrained
Held under control
understated · subtle · muted · tasteful · discreet
- lurid detailsSensational, often disturbing particulars