morbid

adjective mor·bid \ ˈmȯr-bəd \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

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

—

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

Future devices could also help control of morbid obesity, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and erectile dysfunction, Sayet said.

— ron hurtibise, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Bluetooth-operated bionic sphincter controller close to human trial phase," 9 Apr. 2018
His father worked in the commercial art trade and owned a blanket that was once used by a victim of the 1918 flu — a morbid keepsake that Dr. Crosby credited with stimulating his interest in epidemiology.

— harrison smith, Washington Post, "Alfred Crosby, environmental historian of ‘Columbian exchange,’ dies at 87," 5 Apr. 2018
Further, and this is just a morbid reality, there will be more school shootings before the November elections, so the focus on voting and registering thousands of teenagers to vote won’t suddenly dissipate after summer vacation.

— jason johnson, The Root, "Yes, the March for Our Lives Was About Black People, Too—and It’s About Time," 26 Mar. 2018
Equal parts elegant and morbid, the tour shows off the space's architecture, the lives of its original occupants, and highlights from the IMSS's permanent collection.

— rachel yang, Chicago Reader, "Arts / Do This A spoof of 80s teen movies and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week," 26 Mar. 2018
Some adversaries have suggested others want to profit off the death by selling morbid photos of the corpse to tabloid publications.

— CBS News, "Charles Manson's grandson wins bizarre battle over cult leader's body," 12 Mar. 2018
Their vampiric imagery is elegantly entwined with lush, dark soundscapes that create a strangely romantic yet morbid atmosphere that’s just downright interesting to listen to.

— bram teitelman, Billboard, "Not So 'Down Below': Swedish Black Metal Band Tribulation Makes Heatseekers Chart Impact," 1 Mar. 2018
For most of us, the idea of a funeral is rather morbid.

— josh linkner, Detroit Free Press, "Linkner: More funerals are needed in the business world," 10 Feb. 2018
My immediate reaction was repulsion, followed by a kind of morbid curiosity.

— kim brooks, The Cut, "What Happens When a Married Woman Goes on Tinder?," 22 Feb. 2018

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.