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.

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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

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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

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.

Example Sentences

Between 2018 and 2023, the DOJ says, Aetna submitted or failed to withdraw erroneous codes for morbid obesity, applied to plan members whose body-mass index, or BMI, “was inconsistent” with such a diagnosis.

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

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

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026

Though born in London, Shelley lived in Scotland before writing her novel and later credited the country’s bleak landscapes with giving “airy flights” to her morbid imagination.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

He was more fascinated with Mr. Taylor’s morbid interest in his story than with the tale itself.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

Related Words

• ghastly
• ghoulish
• grim
• gruesome
• macabre
• melancholy
• pessimistic
• unnatural