morbidity
Americannoun
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a morbid state or quality.
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the proportion of sickness or of a specific disease in a geographical locality.
noun
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the state of being morbid
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Also: morbidity rate. the relative incidence of a particular disease in a specific locality
Usage
What’s the difference between morbidity and mortality? In a medical context, the word morbidity refers to the incidence or prevalence of a disease in a specific population or location (sometimes called the morbidity rate), while the word mortality refers to relative frequency of deaths in a specific population or location (sometimes called the mortality rate). The related word cormorbidity is used in medical contexts to refer to the state of having multiple medical conditions at the same time. In this context, morbidity relates to sickness, while mortality relates to death. Both morbidity and mortality are also used in nontechnical ways. Morbidity is the noun form of the adjective morbid, which most commonly means excessively gloomy or having an unusual interest in dark subjects, like death. Morbidity, then, can be used to refer to the quality of having this interest, as in Her latest novel lacks the morbidity of her earlier works. Mortality, on the other hand, most commonly refers to the state or condition of being subject to death, as in Humans are aware of their own mortality. The opposite of this is immortality—unending life. Here’s an example of morbidity and mortality used correctly in the same sentence. Example: Studies show that while the morbidity in the region remains quite high, the mortality rate from the disease has continued to drop. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between morbidity and mortality.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of morbidity
Explanation
Morbidity is the state or quality of being unhealthful, overly somber, or unwholesomely gloomy. Some opposites of morbidity are cheerfulness and optimism. The word morbidity comes from the word morbid, which means "characteristic of or caused by disease." The morbidity of a disease is the number of cases that occur in a specified population. For example, the morbidity rates for polio plummeted in the 20th century. Morbidity is also a state of mind or a quality that is focused on death, disease, and gloom. The literary works of Edgar Allan Poe are known for their morbidity.
Vocabulary lists containing morbidity
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for June 11–June 17, 2022
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"Introduction to Homeland Security," Vocabulary from Chapter 3
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Mountains Beyond Mountains
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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.
See Examples For:
Heat exposure has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, especially among women, a major review, external of studies on the effects of heat exposure found.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
“Some seasons are better, with lower attack rates and lower morbidity, and other seasons, just by nature of the changes in the viruses, are worse, with more hospitalizations and more deaths,” Sood said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
"Climate change is increasing the frequency of hot nights, which may independently contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by impairing sleep and autonomic recovery," he said.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 11, 2026
"My fear is that we won't hear about it until the mortality and the morbidity significantly increases this next year," he added.
From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026
In this, the atmosphere, no matter how coarse, has a verve and an essential joviality that casts out morbidity.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
Prof Mabbott said: "Living a lot longer, but suffering from the multiple morbidities that can accompany ageing, and in-and-out of hospital for another tissue transplant does not sound an attractive way to spend my retirement!"
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025
It is linked to accelerated biological aging and various end-organ health issues, such as cardiovascular, cognitive and metabolic morbidities.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 3, 2024
Counties with fewer resources, limited know-how, and infrequent exposure to severe weather events are ill-equipped to record data on climate-related illness and morbidities, let alone report them to the federal government.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 6, 2023
Scientists then started looking into underlying biological mechanisms that can cause long-term psychiatric morbidities.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2023
Over and above all such morbidities was the fact that Kitty was looking at him with the eyes of a frightened child—a real child.
From The Nest, The White Pagoda, The Suicide, A Forsaken Temple, Miss Jones and The Masterpiece by Sedgwick, Anne Douglas
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.
