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.
"This is going to sound a little morbid: I'm going to live my life, and it's going to end. When it ends, I'm going somewhere else, and I'm not going to be here any more."
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
However, what Jemima and far too many children like her experience today goes far beyond morbid curiosity.
From Slate ● May 12, 2026
Needle drops of Celtic folksongs and poems set to music give the impression that every Irish dirge yearns to get as morbid as “Nearer, My God, to Thee.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
The “expectant widow” line was a morbid, vaguely risqué gag, the kind of joke that has been standard fare at the Correspondents’ Dinner and roasts for decades.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 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.
