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.
Some particularly graphic scenes make this morbid epic more appropriate for adults, but Mr. Kraus’s gruesome sensibilities had always been an awkward fit for YA readers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Judge Barry Cotter KC said Phelan had acted out of "morbid curiosity" and that Travis had needed "help and support but he got the very opposite of that from you".
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Now they had to engage in the morbid ritual of waiting for that dream to die.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
Maybe the only purpose in any of this is to prolong morbid fascinations, to twist the knife.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026
To derail this morbid train of thought, I tried changing the subject again.
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.
