moribund

adjective

mor·​i·​bund ˈmȯr-ə-(ˌ)bənd 

ˈmär-

1

: being in the state of dying : approaching death

in the moribund patient deepening stupor and coma are the usual preludes to death

—Norman Cameron

2

: being in a state of inactivity or obsolescence

a moribund virus

a moribund volcano

prune the moribund files from your disk forever

—D. S. Janal

moribundity

ˌmȯr-ə-ˈbən-də-tē 

ˌmär-

noun

Did you know?

Moribund Gets Less Literal

Moribund is still sometimes used in its original literal sense of "approaching death", but it's much more often used to describe things. When the economy goes bad, we hear about moribund mills and factories and towns; the economy itself may even be called moribund. Critics may speak of the moribund state of poetry, or lament the moribund record or newspaper industry.

Synonyms

• dying

Examples of moribund in a Sentence

an actor who is trying to revive his moribund career

The peace talks are moribund.

Recent Examples on the Web

But the genre had been moribund for some time before 2002, when Boyle’s picture and Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil brought it back from the dead. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 June 2025

The Disney/Marvel release has earned $372 million worldwide and credit for spicing up the moribund superhero genre. —Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 6 June 2025

Boston has now allowed 47 runs in the first inning, which is more than any other inning and ranks second-worst in MLB behind only the moribund Colorado Rockies, who have given up 66. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 4 June 2025

Markets rallied, Wall Street banks curtailed their recession forecasts, and moribund USconsumer confidence rebounded significantly. —Samantha Waldenberg, CNN Money, 6 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin moribundus, from mori to die — more at murder

First Known Use

circa 1721, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

moribund

adjective

mor·​i·​bund ˈmȯr-ə-(ˌ)bənd 

ˈmär-

: nearly dead

Medical Definition

moribund

adjective

mor·​i·​bund ˈmȯr-ə-(ˌ)bənd, ˈmär- 

: being in the state of dying : approaching death

in the moribund patient deepening stupor and coma are the usual preludes to death

—Norman Cameron