morbid

Q: Are morbid and moribund the same?

Morbid and moribund may begin with the same three letters, but these words have different meanings and origins. Moribund, meaning "being in a state of inactivity or obsolescence," comes from the Latin word meaning "to die" ( mori ), while morbid ("grisly, gruesome") is from the Latin morbus ("disease").

Q: Is morbid a noun?

No, morbid is an adjective (with meanings such as "of, relating to, or characteristic of disease" and "gruesome or grisly"). There are noun forms, such as morbidity ("an abnormal or unhealthy state of mind; especially, one marked by excessive gloom") and morbidness ("the quality or state of being morbid"). "

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mor·bid | \ ˈmȯr-bəd

Definition of morbid

1a : 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

Other Words from morbid Synonyms & Antonyms Frequently Asked Questions About morbid More Example Sentences Learn More about morbid

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Frequently Asked Questions About morbid

What is morbid curiosity?

Morbid curiosity is a fascination with grisly or gruesome matters. Although morbid has other meanings (such as "productive of disease"), when paired with curiosity it carries the "grisly" sense.

Are morbid and moribund the same?

Morbid and moribund may begin with the same three letters, but these words have different meanings and origins. Moribund, meaning "being in a state of inactivity or obsolescence," comes from the Latin word meaning "to die" (mori), while morbid ("grisly, gruesome") is from the Latin morbus ("disease").

Is morbid a noun?

No, morbid is an adjective (with meanings such as "of, relating to, or characteristic of disease" and "gruesome or grisly"). There are noun forms, such as morbidity ("an abnormal or unhealthy state of mind; especially, one marked by excessive gloom") and morbidness ("the quality or state of being morbid"). "

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 on the Web Phase 1 starts with the allocation of vaccines to high-risk health workers and first-responders, then people of all ages with co-morbid and underlying conditions and older adults living in long-term facilities. — Yadira Sanchez Olson, chicagotribune.com, "Rosalind Franklin University dean serving as adviser for COVID-19 vaccine development," 12 Nov. 2020 These semi-morbid attractions, like many Bustamante visited on his prospecting tours, aren’t near any airports or easily accessible by major interstate highways. — Zoe Zorka, USA TODAY, "Gold prospecting grows as a hobby thanks to social distancing and an uncertain economy," 28 Sep. 2020 Not to be morbid, just morbidly political, but because of Joe Biden's age, scrutiny of his vice presidential nominee should be exceedingly fine. — Arkansas Online, "OPINION | EDITORIAL: The pick is in," 17 Aug. 2020 Also important for us is looking at co-morbid conditions because most of the people dying have these issues. — Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, "How India’s public health insurance programme is navigating the Covid-19 crisis," 8 June 2020 And the morbid tabulations that appear at the bottom of the TV screen don’t come close to conveying the human toll or its scope. — Author: Noah Bierman, Eli Stokols, Anchorage Daily News, "Little sense of shared grief as virus deaths near 100,000," 22 May 2020 The first episode opens on her sister’s 17th birthday, which her grieving mother celebrates every year with a morbid over-the-top party. — Kathleen Newman-bremang, refinery29.com, "Netflix Is About To Drop Your Next TV Obsession," 19 May 2020 But the right is swiftly establishing its own morbid template for how to interpret and respond to both the pandemic and its economic effects. — Joe Lowndes, The New Republic, "The Morbid Ideology Behind the Drive to Reopen America," 30 Apr. 2020 In the grips of a pandemic, the approach is a morbid experiment in just how far states can push their people. — Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, "Georgia’s Experiment in Human Sacrifice," 29 Apr. 2020

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.

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“Morbid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morbid. Accessed 27 Feb. 2021.

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More Definitions for morbid

morbid

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of morbid

: relating to unpleasant subjects (such as death)

technical : not healthy or normal

See the full definition for morbid in the English Language Learners Dictionary

morbid

adjective

mor·bid | \ ˈmȯr-bəd

Kids Definition of morbid

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

morbid

adjective

mor·bid | \ ˈmȯr-bəd