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
morbidly
adverb
morbidness
noun
Synonyms
- black
- bleak
- cheerless
- chill
- Cimmerian
- cloudy
- cold
- comfortless
- dark
- darkening
- depressing
- depressive
- desolate
- dire
- disconsolate
- dismal
- drear
- dreary
- dreich [chiefly Scottish]
- elegiac
- elegiacal
- forlorn
- funereal
- gloomy
- glum
- godforsaken
- gray
- grey
- lonely
- lonesome
- lugubrious
- miserable
- morose
- murky
- plutonian
- saturnine
- sepulchral
- solemn
- somber
- sombre
- sullen
- sunless
- tenebrific
- tenebrous
- wretched
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
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.
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
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
The group of stories is classified as contemporary Gothic, and each follows a new morbid storyline.
Find the book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
—Christopher Murray, Fox News, 24 Sep. 2024
Pennies from Heaven was based on British writer Dennis Potter’s postmodern TV series about the morbid inner life of a Depression-era sheet music salesman named Arthur (played by Steve Martin).
—Armond White, National Review, 29 Nov. 2024
Still, the pigtailed problem child is making an appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, courtesy of a morbid Netflix float.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 28 Nov. 2024
The Italian political philosopher Antonio Gramsci famously warned that a great variety of morbid symptoms appear in the interregnum that occurs when the old is dying and the new cannot yet be born.
—Firas Maksad, TIME, 26 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for morbid 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Christopher Murray, Fox News, 24 Sep. 2024
Pennies from Heaven was based on British writer Dennis Potter’s postmodern TV series about the morbid inner life of a Depression-era sheet music salesman named Arthur (played by Steve Martin).
—Armond White, National Review, 29 Nov. 2024
Still, the pigtailed problem child is making an appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, courtesy of a morbid Netflix float.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 28 Nov. 2024
The Italian political philosopher Antonio Gramsci famously warned that a great variety of morbid symptoms appear in the interregnum that occurs when the old is dying and the new cannot yet be born.
—Firas Maksad, TIME, 26 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for morbid
Articles Related to morbid
Dictionary Entries Near morbid
Cite this Entry
“Morbid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morbid. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
morbid
adjective
mor·bid
ˈmȯr-bəd 
1
a
: of, relating to, or characteristic of disease
b
: affected with or induced by disease
a morbid condition
morbid alteration of tissues
c
: productive of disease
morbid substances
2
: abnormally susceptible to or characterized by gloomy or unwholesome feelings
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