macabre

adjective

ma·​ca·​bre mə-ˈkäb  -ˈkä-brə 

-bər,

-ˈkäbrᵊ

1

: having death as a subject : comprising or including a personalized representation of death

The macabre dance included a procession of skeletons.

2

: dwelling on the gruesome

a macabre presentation of a tragic story

3

: tending to produce horror in a beholder

this macabre procession of starving peasants

Did you know?

We trace the origins of macabre to the name of the Book of Maccabees, which is included in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons of the Old Testament and in the Protestant Apocrypha. Sections of this biblical text address both the deaths of faithful people asked to renounce their religion, and the manner in which the dead should be properly commemorated. In medieval France, representations of these passages were performed as a procession or dance which became known as the "dance of death" or "dance Maccabee"; the latter was spelled in several different ways, including danse de Macabré. In English, macabre was originally used in reference to this "dance of death" but then gradually broadened in use to describe anything grim or horrific. Today macabre functions as a synonym of gruesome or repulsive, always with a connection to the physical aspects of death and suffering.

Synonyms

• gruesome
• horrific
• shocking
• nightmare

Choose the Right Synonym for macabre

ghastly, grisly, gruesome, macabre, lurid mean horrifying and repellent in appearance or aspect.

ghastly suggests the terrifying aspects of corpses and ghosts.

a ghastly accident

grisly and gruesome suggest additionally the results of extreme violence or cruelty.

an unusually grisly murder

suffered a gruesome death

macabre implies a morbid preoccupation with the physical aspects of death.

a macabre tale of premature burial

lurid adds to gruesome the suggestion of shuddering fascination with violent death and especially with murder.

the lurid details of a crime

Examples of macabre in a Sentence

a macabre story of murder and madness

Police discovered a macabre scene inside the house.

Recent Examples on the Web

From Psycho to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to The Silence of the Lambs, Gein’s macabre legacy gave birth to fictional monsters born in his image and ignited a cultural obsession with the criminally deviant. —Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025

Are there like guillotines and secret dungeons and macabre stuff like that in the house? —Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2025

Of course, not everyone stays dead – or, rather, death doesn’t always prevent characters from showing back up in this macabre fantasy. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Step once more into Tim Burton's macabre universe as a grown-up Lydia Deetz (Ryder) who desperately conjures up Beetlejuice to help save her daughter, Astrid (Ortega), from the Afterlife. —Charlotte Walsh, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from (danse) macabre dance of death, from Middle French (danse de) Macabré

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for macabre

• sabra
• candelabra

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

macabre

adjective

ma·​ca·​bre mə-ˈkäb(-rə)  -ˈkäb-ər 

-ˈkäbrᵊ

1

: having death as a subject

2

: marked by or arousing horror