If you describe a person or their interest in something as morbid, you mean that they are very interested in unpleasant things, especially death, and you think this is strange.
[disapproval]
Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.
...morbid curiosity about the convicted murderer.
Synonyms: gruesome, sick [informal], dreadful, ghastly More Synonyms of morbid
morbidlyadverb [usually ADVERB adjective]
There's something morbidly fascinating about the thought.
More Synonyms of morbid
morbid in British English
(ˈmɔːbɪd)
adjective
1.
having an unusual interest in death or unpleasant events
2.
gruesome
3.
relating to or characterized by disease; pathologic
a morbid growth
Derived forms
morbidly (ˈmorbidly)
adverb
morbidness (ˈmorbidness)
noun
Word origin
C17: from Latin morbidus sickly, from morbus illness
morbid in American English
(ˈmɔrbɪd)
adjective
1.
of, having, or caused by disease; unhealthy; diseased
2.
resulting from or as from a diseased state of mind; esp., having or showing an unwholesome tendency to dwell on gruesome or gloomy matters
3.
gruesome; grisly; horrible
the morbid details of a story
4.
of diseased parts; pathological
morbid anatomy
5. Rare
causing disease
Derived forms
morbidly (ˈmorbidly)
adverb
morbidness (ˈmorbidness)
noun
Word origin
L morbidus, sickly, diseased < morbus, disease < IE base *mer-, to rub, wear away, destroy > mare3, L mortarium, OIr meirb, lifeless
Examples of 'morbid' in a sentence
morbid
I don't think this is about exciting a weird, morbid curiosity.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Everyone in my family recognised my morbid interest in drama.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The public showed a fascination in the morbid during the year.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But the detective is not driven by either sentimentality or morbid curiosity.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Put it down to a morbid fascination with sport and the way it is portrayed.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It challenges the seemingly benign interest we have in criminology and forces us to question our morbid fascination with terrible deeds.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Not out of loyalty, but morbid curiosity.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
He died this week of breathing difficulties, a result of his morbid obesity.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
There's a morbid fascination with knowing celebrities are just like us.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
I hop on planes without morbid thoughts.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
A morbid secret interest in its beauties and resources possessed him.
Frances Hodgson Burnett Emily Fox-Seton (1901)
I have a morbid fascination for thinking about how to survive without the trappings of modern life.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I think there would be something morbid about sitting there, watching it.
The Sun (2009)
I must make myself busy, to keep off morbid thoughts.
Elizabeth Gaskell North and South (1855)
She, rather touchingly, has said she takes full responsibility for her morbid obesity.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Her morbid obesity wasn't her fault, you see.
The Sun (2010)
Murder mystery weekends or places of morbid interest, such as a famous cemetery, are your idea of fun.
The Sun (2015)
In other languages
morbid
British English: morbid ADJECTIVE
If you describe a person or their interest in something as morbid, you mean that they are very interested in unpleasant things, especially death, and you think this is strange.
Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.
American English: morbid
Brazilian Portuguese: mórbido
Chinese: 病态的
European Spanish: morboso
French: morbide
German: krankhaft
Italian: morboso
Japanese: 病的な
Korean: 병적인
European Portuguese: mórbido
Latin American Spanish: morboso
Chinese translation of 'morbid'
morbid
(ˈmɔːbɪd)
adj
[person, interest, subject]病态(態)的 (bìngtài de)
1 (adjective)
Definition
having an unusual interest in death or unpleasant events
Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.
Synonyms
gruesome
There has been a series of gruesome murders in the capital.
sick (informal)
a sick joke about a cat
dreadful
ghastly
a particularly ghastly murder
hideous
She saw a hideous face at the window and screamed.
unhealthy
an unhealthy obsession with secrecy
grisly
a series of grisly murders
macabre
Police have made a macabre discovery.
horrid
ghoulish
They are there only to satisfy their ghoulish curiosity.
unwholesome
2 (adjective)
He was in no mood for any morbid introspection.
Synonyms
gloomy
He is gloomy about the fate of the economy.
brooding
A heavy, brooding silence descended on them.
pessimistic
his excessively pessimistic view of life
melancholy
It was at this time of day that I felt most melancholy.
sombre
The pair were in sombre mood.
grim
Her expression was grim and unpleasant.
glum
What are you both looking so glum about?
lugubrious
He plays it so slowly that it becomes lugubrious.
funereal
He addressed the group in funereal tones.
low-spirited
Opposites
happy
,
cheerful
,
bright
,
wholesome
3 (adjective)
Definition
relating to or characterized by disease
Uraemia is a morbid condition.
Synonyms
diseased
Clear away dead or diseased plants.
sick
She's very sick.
infected
deadly
ailing
I stopped working to care for my ailing mother.
unhealthy
a poorly dressed, unhealthy looking fellow with a poor complexion
malignant
sickly
He had been a sickly child.
pathological
unsound
He was rejected as an army conscript as being of unsound mind.
Opposites
healthy
,
salubrious
Additional synonyms
in the sense of ailing
Definition
unwell or unsuccessful over a long period
I stopped working to care for my ailing mother.
Synonyms
ill,
suffering,
poorly (informal),
diseased,
sick,
weak,
crook (Australian, New Zealand, informal),
feeble,
invalid,
debilitated,
sickly,
unwell,
infirm,
off colour,
under the weather (informal),
indisposed
in the sense of brooding
A heavy, brooding silence descended on them.
Synonyms
gloomy,
troubled,
depressed,
moody,
glum,
dejected,
despondent,
downcast,
morose
in the sense of funereal
Definition
suggestive of a funeral
He addressed the group in funereal tones.
Synonyms
gloomy,
dark,
sad,
grave,
depressing,
dismal,
lamenting,
solemn,
dreary,
sombre,
woeful,
mournful,
lugubrious,
sepulchral,
dirge-like,
deathlike
Nearby words of
morbid
morality
morass
moratorium
morbid
mordant
more
more or less
Synonyms of 'morbid'
morbid
Explore 'morbid' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of ghastly
Definition
horrible
a particularly ghastly murder
Synonyms
gruesome,
shocking,
terrible,
terrifying,
horrible,
grim,
horrifying,
horrific,
fearful (informal),
horrendous,
hideous,
grisly,
repellent,
repulsive,
loathsome
in the sense of ghoulish
They are there only to satisfy their ghoulish curiosity.
Synonyms
macabre,
sick (informal),
disgusting,
hideous,
gruesome,
grisly,
horrid,
morbid,
unwholesome
in the sense of glum
Definition
gloomy and quiet, usually because of a disappointment
What are you both looking so glum about?
Synonyms
gloomy,
miserable,
dismal,
down,
low,
melancholy,
dejected,
downcast,
morose,
doleful,
downhearted,
down in the dumps (informal),
down in the mouth,
in low spirits,
chapfallen,
sour,
moody,
crabbed,
pessimistic,
grumpy,
sullen,
surly,
churlish,
sulky,
crestfallen,
saturnine,
huffy,
ill-humoured
in the sense of grim
Definition
stern or resolute
Her expression was grim and unpleasant.
Synonyms
stern,
severe,
harsh,
grave,
solemn,
forbidding,
sullen,
surly,
morose
in the sense of grisly
Definition
causing horror or dread
a series of grisly murders
Synonyms
gruesome,
shocking,
terrible,
awful,
terrifying,
appalling,
horrible,
grim,
dreadful,
sickening,
ghastly,
hideous,
macabre,
horrid,
frightful,
abominable,
hellacious (US, slang)
in the sense of hideous
Definition
extremely ugly or unpleasant
She saw a hideous face at the window and screamed.
Synonyms
ugly,
revolting,
ghastly,
monstrous,
grotesque,
gruesome,
grisly,
unsightly,
repulsive,
fugly (US, Australian)
in the sense of lugubrious
Definition
mournful or gloomy
He plays it so slowly that it becomes lugubrious.
Synonyms
gloomy,
serious,
sad,
dismal,
melancholy,
dreary,
sombre,
woeful,
mournful,
morose,
sorrowful,
funereal,
doleful,
woebegone,
dirgelike
in the sense of macabre
Definition
strange and horrible
Police have made a macabre discovery.
Synonyms
gruesome,
grim,
ghastly,
frightening,
ghostly,
weird,
dreadful,
unearthly,
hideous,
eerie,
grisly,
horrid,
morbid,
frightful,
ghoulish
in the sense of melancholy
Definition
characterized by, causing, or expressing sadness
It was at this time of day that I felt most melancholy.
Synonyms
sad,
down,
depressed,
unhappy,
low,
blue,
miserable,
moody,
gloomy,
dismal,
sombre,
woeful,
glum,
mournful,
dejected,
despondent,
dispirited,
melancholic,
downcast,
lugubrious,
pensive,
sorrowful,
disconsolate,
joyless,
doleful,
downhearted,
heavy-hearted,
down in the dumps (informal),
woebegone,
down in the mouth,
low-spirited
in the sense of pessimistic
his excessively pessimistic view of life
Synonyms
gloomy,
dark,
despairing,
bleak,
resigned,
sad,
depressed,
cynical,
hopeless,
melancholy,
glum,
dejected,
foreboding,
despondent,
morose,
fatalistic,
distrustful,
downhearted,
misanthropic
Additional synonyms
in the sense of sick
Definition
making fun of death, illness, or misfortune
a sick joke about a cat
Synonyms
morbid,
cruel,
sadistic,
black,
offensive,
gruesome,
macabre,
ghoulish
in the sense of sick
Definition
physically or mentally unwell
She's very sick.
Synonyms
unwell,
ill,
poorly (informal),
diseased,
weak,
crook (Australian, New Zealand, informal),
under par (informal),
ailing,
feeble,
laid up (informal),
under the weather (informal),
indisposed,
on the sick list (informal)
in the sense of sickly
Definition
weak and unhealthy
He had been a sickly child.
Synonyms
unhealthy,
weak,
delicate,
ailing,
feeble,
infirm,
in poor health,
indisposed
in the sense of sombre
Definition
serious, sad, or gloomy
The pair were in sombre mood.
Synonyms
gloomy,
sad,
sober,
grave,
dismal,
melancholy,
mournful,
lugubrious,
joyless,
funereal,
doleful,
sepulchral
in the sense of unhealthy
Definition
morbid or unwholesome
an unhealthy obsession with secrecy
Synonyms
unwholesome,
morbid,
bad,
negative,
corrupt,
corrupting,
degrading,
undesirable,
demoralizing,
baneful (archaic)
in the sense of unhealthy
Definition
not very fit or well
a poorly dressed, unhealthy looking fellow with a poor complexion
Synonyms
sick,
sickly,
unwell,
poorly (informal),
weak,
delicate,
crook (Australian, New Zealand, informal),
ailing,
frail,
feeble,
invalid,
unsound,
infirm,
in poor health
in the sense of unsound
Definition
unhealthy or unstable
He was rejected as an army conscript as being of unsound mind.