moribund

adjective mor·i·bund \ ˈmȯr-ə-(ˌ)bənd , ˈmär- \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of moribund

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

play \ˌmȯr-ə-ˈbən-də-tē, ˌmär-\ noun

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Examples of moribund in a Sentence

an actor who is trying to revive his moribund career
The peace talks are moribund.

Recent Examples of moribund from the Web

Mullen used a similar approach to build moribund Mississippi State into a competitive SEC program.

— edgar thompson, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Gators' Dan Mullen uses relentless effort, energy to re-energize beleaguered fan base," 11 Apr. 2018
His primary test will be delivering on his central campaign pledge: kick-starting Sierra Leone’s moribund economy.

— nicholas bariyo, WSJ, "Sierra Leone Inaugurates Former Junta Head as President," 5 Apr. 2018
For investors, housing stocks have been viewed by some analysts as a moribund play as companies such as Lennar, D.R. Horton, KB Home and Toll Brothers have occupied the lower end of their 52-week ranges.

— david lyons, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Home-builder Lennar's stock jumps after company posts better first quarter profits than expected," 4 Apr. 2018
Two decades in Silicon Valley have also convinced him that college is an increasingly moribund rite of passage.

— alexander nazaryan, Newsweek, "What Is College Good For? Absolutely Nothing, Say Republicans (and Some Democrats)," 1 Feb. 2018
The film examines the practice of reverse mergers — a sleazy Chinese company buys the legal shell of a dead or moribund U.S. firm (often a bankrupt mining company), and begins to list on a U.S. stock exchange.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "'China Hustle': Skippack businessman exposes stock fraud in new documentary," 29 Mar. 2018
The legislation blocks attempts by the Energy Department to restart a moribund nuclear storage program at the Nevada mountain.

— washington post, latimes.com, "Here's what Congress stuffed into its $1.3-trillion spending bill," 23 Mar. 2018
The two members led a move to prod City Manager Troy Schulte to renegotiate parts of the agreement with Cordish, which was struck when downtown Kansas City was a moribund collection of aging office buildings.

— bill turque, kansascity, "In tough debate, council OKs paying for Three Light garage, gets affordable housing | The Kansas City Star," 22 Mar. 2018
Stephanie Glakas-Tenet helped to revive the Family Advisory Board, which was moribund when her husband, George Tenet, was sworn in as director in 1997, said Bill Harlow, who served as Tenet’s spokesman.

— shane harris, Washington Post, "Susan Pompeo’s role as ‘first lady of the CIA’ draws critics and defenders," 19 Mar. 2018

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

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.