morbid

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adjective mor·bid \ ˈmȯr-bəd \

Definition of morbid

1 a :of, relating to, or characteristic of disease

morbid anatomy

b :affected with or induced by disease

a morbid condition

c :productive of disease

morbid substances

2 :abnormally susceptible to or characterized by gloomy or unwholesome feelings

3 :grisly, gruesome

morbid details

morbid curiosity

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morbidly

adverb

—

morbidness

noun

See morbid defined for English-language learners

See morbid defined for kids

Examples of morbid in a Sentence

Some of the material has been disclosed before, but it is wonderful to have the quotations from President Nixon and his aides gathered here in all their morbid splendor. —Anthony Lewis, New York Review of Books, 7 Apr. 2005
Danger can be sexy, but morbid proselytizing is a real buzzkill. —Emily Gordon, Nation, 5 May 1997
When I was a kid, I harbored a morbid fear of feathers. Feathers. Not a single feather or a few loose feathers, like the ones I'd stick in my naps to play Indian, but feathers in a bunch, … —John Edgar Wideman, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 1994
She suffered from a morbid streak which in all the life of the family reached out on occasions—the worst occasions—and touched us, clung around us, making it worse for her; her unbearable moments could find nowhere to go. —Eudora Welty, One Writer's Beginnings, 1983
She has a morbid interest in funerals.
He has a morbid sense of humor.
a morbid fascination with death
wanting to learn about a celebrity's downfall out of morbid curiosity
suffering from a morbid condition
The child has a morbid fear of snakes.

Recent Examples of morbid from the Web

The vulnerability of pedestrians is a morbid downside of a great improvement in city life.

— justin davidson, Daily Intelligencer, "There’s a Basic Security Device That Can Prevent a Barcelona-Style Attack. Why Don’t We Use It More?," 18 Aug. 2017
Or of trichotillomania, the disorder so often co-morbid with OCD that compels me to pull out my hair.

— emily dixon, Time, "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Is No Joke," 9 Aug. 2017
Anyway, improbably enough, my garden box sits right in the center of the yard, like an unburied casket — not an entirely inapt metaphor considering my morbid agricultural past.

— geoff kirsch, Alaska Dispatch News, "Reflections from an improbable gardener in Juneau," 29 July 2017
Many people find photos of the dead creepy or morbid.

— nancy west, The Atlantic, "Pictures of Death," 19 July 2017
Nearly every day, tourists pose outside the Versace mansion, occasionally sprawled out on the steps in morbid reenactment.

— david ovalle and joey flechas, miamiherald, "After 20 years, the spectacle of the Versace murder still intrigues and baffles," 14 July 2017
Shot in the least picturesque parts of Paris and peopled with morbid eccentrics and grotesques, this picture, Zulawski’s third feature and his first made in France, is in certain respects among his most restrained.

— glenn kenny, New York Times, "Review: ‘L’Important C’est d’Aimer,’ and Its Complications," 13 July 2017
Yet just as declarations of the House bill’s demise proved premature in March, so too might the morbid prognoses about the Senate version seem silly in retrospect.

— russell berman, The Atlantic, "How to Know If the Republican Health-Care Bill Is Dead," 11 July 2017
Wittes can strike a gleefully morbid tone, unsure whether to lament or celebrate each new whiff of scandal.

— simon van zuylen-wood, Daily Intelligencer, "The Man Who Made Liberals Newly Enamored of the Deep State," 11 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'morbid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of morbid

Latin morbidus diseased, from morbus disease

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First Known Use: 1656

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morbid Synonyms

Other Anatomy Terms

bilateral symmetry, carotid, cartilage, dorsal, entrails, prehensile, renal, solar plexus, supine, thoracic, ventral

MORBID Defined for English Language Learners

morbid

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adjective

Definition of morbid for English Language Learners

: relating to unpleasant subjects (such as death)
: not healthy or normal

MORBID Defined for Kids

morbid

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adjective mor·bid \ ˈmȯr-bəd \

Definition of morbid for Students

1 :not healthy or normal

He has a morbid fear of snakes.

2 :having or showing an interest in unpleasant or gloomy things

Some stared at the afflicted child with morbid fascination …
—Ellen Raskin, The Westing Game

Medical Dictionary

morbid

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adjective mor·bid \ ˈmȯr-bəd \

medical Definition of morbid

1 a :of, relating to, or characteristic of disease

b :affected with or induced by disease

a morbid condition

morbid alteration of tissues

c :productive of disease

morbid substances

2 :abnormally susceptible to or characterized by gloomy or unwholesome feelings

Learn More about morbid

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for morbid Spanish Central: Translation of morbid Nglish: Translation of morbid for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of morbid for Arabic speakers

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morbid

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morbid

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