The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - lurid adj.

1) sensational, vivid, shocking, startling, graphic, melodramatic: The tabloids delight in a lurid scandal. 2) ghastly, horrid, horrifying, horrendous, gory, grisly, gruesome, macabre, revolting, disgusting, appalling, frightful, terrible, awful: Every lurid detail of the massacre was shown on TV. 3) pale, ashen, sallow, wan, pallid, ghastly, baleful: From the lurid shade of his skin, I could see he had some horrible affliction. 4) glaring, fiery, flaming, burning, aglow, glowing, glowering: The burning city cast a lurid light in the sky.