moribund

[mawr-uh-buhnd, mor-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR moribund ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

in a dying state; near death.

on the verge of extinction or termination.

not progressing or advancing; stagnant: a moribund political party.

Origin of moribund

1715–25; < Latin moribundus dying, equivalent to mori- (stem of morī to die) + -bundus adj. suffix

Related formsmor·i·bun·di·ty, nounmor·i·bund·ly, adverbun·mor·i·bund, adjectiveun·mor·i·bund·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for moribund

doomed, fading, fated, going, mortal, passing, declining

Examples from the Web for moribund

Contemporary Examples of moribund

Then Heal STL was burned down Monday like a moribund body for cremation.
The Baptism of Michael Brown Sr. and Ferguson’s Baptism by Fire
Justin Glawe
November 27, 2014
Leaving the moribund Eddie, Frank crosses paths with a black deliveryman, and they talk about hurricane survivors.
Richard Ford’s Artful Survivalist Guide: The Return of Frank Bascombe
Tom LeClair
November 4, 2014
When Murdoch bought the paper in 1969 it was a moribund broadsheet losing a ton of money, with a circulation of 800,000.
Murdoch on the Rocks: How a Lone Reporter Revealed the Mogul's Tabloid Terror Machine
Clive Irving
August 25, 2014
Now French investigators, with the help of the FBI, want to know if it is more than a moribund coincidence.
Alps Murder Twist: Iraqi Wife Had Secret American Ex-Husband Who Died on the Same Day
Barbie Latza Nadeau
July 9, 2014
Is Palestinian culture to blame for the moribund state of the Palestinian economy?
Dear WaPo: Abbas Did Not 'Reject' Olmert's Offer
Emily L. Hauser
July 10, 2013

Historical Examples of moribund

More than the population of the moribund city, at least as Harkaman remembered it.
Space Viking
Henry Beam Piper
"You can tell my country, sir, that I died willingly," panted the moribund.
The Dop Doctor
Clotilde Inez Mary Graves
I saw for myself the return of life to a body that was moribund.
The Blue Germ
Martin Swayne
Together the two works are an epitome of modern and moribund Iran.
The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan
James Morier
Surely it was time to infuse new blood into the veins of the moribund art.
The Reef
Edith Wharton

British Dictionary definitions for moribund

moribund

adjective

near death

stagnant; without force or vitality

Derived Formsmoribundity, nounmoribundly, adverb

Word Origin for moribund

C18: from Latin, from morī to die

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for moribund

adj.

1721, "about to die," from Middle French moribund (16c.), from Latin moribundus "dying, at the point of death," from mori "to die" (see mortal (adj.)). Figurative sense of "near an end" is from 1837. Related: Moribundity.

moribund in Medicine

moribund

[môr′ə-bŭnd′]

n.

At the point of death; dying.

Related formsmor′i•bun′di•ty (-bŭn′dĭ-tē) n.