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Synonyms

morbid

American  
[mawr-bid] / ˈmɔr bɪd /

adjective

  1. suggesting an unhealthy mental state or attitude; unwholesomely gloomy, sensitive, extreme, etc..

    a morbid interest in death.
    Antonyms:
    cheerful

  2. affected by, caused by, causing, or characteristic of disease.

    Synonyms:
    sickly, sick, unhealthy, unhealthy, diseased, unwholesome
    Antonyms:
    healthy

  3. pertaining to diseased parts.

    morbid anatomy.

  4. gruesome; grisly.

morbid British  
/ ˈmɔːbɪd /

adjective

  1. having an unusual interest in death or unpleasant events

  2. gruesome

  3. relating to or characterized by disease; pathologic

    a morbid growth
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • morbidly adverb
  • morbidness noun
  • premorbid adjective
  • premorbidly adverb
  • premorbidness noun
  • unmorbid adjective
  • unmorbidly adverb
  • unmorbidness noun

Etymology

Origin of morbid

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin morbidus “sickly,” from morb(us) “disease, sickness” + -idus -id 4

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Aetna allegedly submitted erroneous morbid obesity codes that were inconsistent with members’ BMIs from 2018 to 2023.

From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026

Maybe the only purpose in any of this is to prolong morbid fascinations, to twist the knife.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026

As a reader might gather, “Neighbors” falls into the category of what is unkindly categorized as freak-show documentary—the characters are objects of morbid curiosity or, maybe, pathos.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

Despite its serious subject matter, the novel is neither morbid nor morose.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026

The giant woman wouldn’t stop talking about it, describing the scene in morbid detail for the others.

From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.