morbid
Americanadjective
-
suggesting an unhealthy mental state or attitude; unwholesomely gloomy, sensitive, extreme, etc..
a morbid interest in death.
- Antonyms:
- cheerful
-
affected by, caused by, causing, or characteristic of disease.
- Synonyms:
- sickly, sick, unhealthy, diseased, unwholesome
- Antonyms:
- healthy
-
pertaining to diseased parts.
morbid anatomy.
-
gruesome; grisly.
adjective
-
having an unusual interest in death or unpleasant events
-
gruesome
-
relating to or characterized by disease; pathologic
a morbid growth
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of morbid
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin morbidus “sickly,” from morb(us) “disease, sickness” + -idus -id 4
Explanation
If the first section of the newspaper you read is the obituaries, you could be considered morbid. Morbid is a word used to describe anyone who spends too much time thinking about death or disease. A lot of English words relating to medicine and science come from Latin, and the adjective morbid is one of them; it comes from the root morbidus, meaning "diseased" or "sick." Morbid can also be used to describe other nouns besides people. If you wear Goth clothing, your wardrobe might be described as morbid. And if you hang tombstones on your walls, your taste in art could also be described as morbid.
Vocabulary lists containing morbid
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Rap Lyrics
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Grade 10, List 5
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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.
Morbid though it is to contemplate, those kinds of numbers probably make more congressional deaths in the near future inevitable.
From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026
Morbid curiosity is a powerful way for animals to gain information about the most dangerous things in their environment.
From Scientific American • Oct. 20, 2023
Death metal band Morbid Angel, which was scheduled to perform at the concert, wrote on its Facebook page that the tornado caused "the roof, over the area in-front of the stage, and marquee to collapse."
From Reuters • Apr. 2, 2023
More than 200 people were at the venue for a concert headlined by the Florida-based metal band Morbid Angel.
From Washington Post • Apr. 1, 2023
Morbid curiosity compelled me to peek at the underside of his visible half, which earned me a crystal-clear view of the inner workings of his bowels.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
