macabre

adjective

ma·ca·bre mə-ˈkäb

-ˈkä-brə

-bər,

-ˈkäbrᵊ

Synonyms of macabre next

: having death as a subject : comprising or including a personalized representation of death

The macabre dance included a procession of skeletons.

: dwelling on the gruesome

a macabre presentation of a tragic story

: tending to produce horror in a beholder

this macabre procession of starving peasants

Did you know?

We trace the origins of macabre to the name of the Book of Maccabees, which is included in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons of the Old Testament and in the Protestant Apocrypha. Sections of this biblical text address both the deaths of faithful people asked to renounce their religion, and the manner in which the dead should be properly commemorated. In medieval France, representations of these passages were performed as a procession or dance which became known as the "dance of death" or "dance Maccabee"; the latter was spelled in several different ways, including danse de Macabré. In English, macabre was originally used in reference to this "dance of death" but then gradually broadened in use to describe anything grim or horrific. Today macabre functions as a synonym of gruesome or repulsive, always with a connection to the physical aspects of death and suffering.

Choose the Right Synonym for macabre

ghastly, grisly, gruesome, macabre, lurid mean horrifying and repellent in appearance or aspect.

ghastly suggests the terrifying aspects of corpses and ghosts.

a ghastly accident

grisly and gruesome suggest additionally the results of extreme violence or cruelty.

an unusually grisly murder

suffered a gruesome death

macabre implies a morbid preoccupation with the physical aspects of death.

a macabre tale of premature burial

lurid adds to gruesome the suggestion of shuddering fascination with violent death and especially with murder.

the lurid details of a crime

Examples of macabre in a Sentence

a macabre story of murder and madness Police discovered a macabre scene inside the house.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The actor Ruth Gordon, now best known for playing the elder matron with a macabre edge in Harold and Maude and Rosemary’s Baby, bought the place thanks to her friend Katharine Hepburn, whose best roles Gordon wrote with her husband, Garson Kanin. —

Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 6 Dec. 2024 This macabre task led me to some of the internet's most unscrupulous corners, and required me to expend vast resources—both human and monetary—to source and acquire the means of execution. —

Jason Fields, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024 Inspired, Jack decides to stage his own macabre version of Christmas, complete with skeleton reindeer and presents that fight back. —

EW.com, 30 Nov. 2024 Hans Castorp’s companions at the sanatorium’s five lavish daily meals are a cosmopolitan and macabre gallery of mostly young people who fill the endless hours gossiping, flirting, quarreling, philosophizing, and waiting to recover or die. —

George Packer, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for macabre