You describe something such as an event or story as macabre when it is strange and horrible or upsetting, usually because it involves death or injury.
Police have made a macabre discovery.
Mr Dahl was well-known for his macabre adult stories called 'Tales of the Unexpected'.
Synonyms: gruesome, grim, ghastly, frightening More Synonyms of macabre
macabre in British English
(məˈkɑːbə, -brə)
adjective
1.
gruesome; ghastly; grim
2.
resembling or associated with the danse macabre
Derived forms
macabrely (maˈcabrely)
adverb
Word origin
C15: from Old French danse macabre dance of death, probably from macabé relating to the Maccabees, who were associated with death because of the doctrinesand prayers for the dead in II Macc. (12:43–46)
macabre in American English
(məˈkɑbrə; məˈkɑb; məˈkɑbər)
adjective
grim and horrible; gruesome; ghastly
: also maˈcaber (məˈkɑbər)
Word origin
Fr < OFr (danse) Macabré, (dance) of death, prob. altered < ML (Chorea) Machabaeorum, lit., dance of the Maccabees (see Maccabees): semantic connection obscure
Examples of 'macabre' in a sentence
macabre
You could have a sense of the macabre if you allowed your imagination to run away with you.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
We also share a silly, sometimes macabre sense of humour.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Let the dance macabre begin.
The Sun (2008)
In a macabre twist, websites are also springing up that allow you to store emails that will be sent at staggered intervals after your death.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
His taut style and sense of the macabre were informed by his mother's tales of Norwegian trolls.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In other languages
macabre
British English: macabre ADJECTIVE
You describe something such as an event or story as macabre when it is strange and horrible or upsetting, usually because it involves death or injury.
Police have made a macabre discovery.
American English: macabre
Brazilian Portuguese: macabro
Chinese: 恐怖的
European Spanish: macabro
French: macabre
German: makaber
Italian: macabro
Japanese: 気味の悪い
Korean: 섬뜩한
European Portuguese: macabro
Latin American Spanish: macabro
(adjective)
Definition
strange and horrible
Police have made a macabre discovery.
Synonyms
gruesome
There has been a series of gruesome murders in the capital.
grim
They painted a grim picture of growing crime.
ghastly
This wallpaper is absolutely ghastly.
frightening
ghostly
The moon shed a ghostly light on the fields.
weird
I had such a weird dream last night.
dreadful
I feel absolutely dreadful.
unearthly
The sound was so serene that it seemed unearthly.
hideous
She saw a hideous face at the window and screamed.
eerie
An eerie silence settled over the forest.
grisly
a series of grisly murders
horrid
morbid
Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.
frightful
We were trapped overnight in frightful conditions.
ghoulish
They are there only to satisfy their ghoulish curiosity.
Opposites
appealing
,
beautiful
,
lovely
,
charming
,
pleasant
,
delightful
Additional synonyms
in the sense of dreadful
Definition
extremely disagreeable or shocking
I feel absolutely dreadful.
Synonyms
awful,
terrible (informal),
ghastly,
grim,
horrendous,
frightful,
godawful (slang),
like death warmed up (informal)
in the sense of eerie
Definition
strange and frightening
An eerie silence settled over the forest.
Synonyms
uncanny,
strange,
frightening,
ghostly,
weird,
mysterious,
scary (informal),
sinister,
uneasy,
fearful,
awesome,
unearthly,
supernatural,
unnatural,
spooky (informal),
creepy (informal),
spectral,
eldritch (poetic),
preternatural
in the sense of frightful
Definition
very alarming or horrifying
We were trapped overnight in frightful conditions.
Synonyms
terrible,
shocking (informal),
alarming,
awful,
appalling,
horrible,
grim,
terrifying,
dreadful,
dread (literary),
fearful (informal),
traumatic,
dire,
horrendous,
ghastly,
hideous,
harrowing,
gruesome,
unnerving,
lurid,
from hell (informal),
grisly,
macabre,
petrifying,
horrid,
unspeakable,
godawful (slang),
hellacious (US, slang)
Nearby words of
macabre
lyric
lyrical
ma
macabre
mace
macerate
Machiavellian
Synonyms of 'macabre'
macabre
Explore 'macabre' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of ghastly
Definition
very unpleasant
This wallpaper is absolutely ghastly.
Synonyms
horrible,
shocking (informal),
terrible (informal),
awful,
grim,
dreadful,
horrendous,
hideous,
from hell (informal),
horrid (informal),
repulsive,
frightful,
loathsome,
godawful (slang)
in the sense of ghostly
Definition
frightening in appearance or effect
The moon shed a ghostly light on the fields.
Synonyms
unearthly,
weird,
phantom,
eerie,
supernatural,
uncanny,
spooky (informal),
spectral,
eldritch (poetic),
ghostlike,
phantasmal,
wraithlike
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 grim
Definition
unfavourable and worrying
They painted a grim picture of growing crime.
Synonyms
terrible,
shocking (informal),
severe,
harsh,
forbidding,
horrible,
formidable,
sinister,
ghastly,
hideous,
gruesome (slang),
grisly,
horrid,
frightful,
godawful
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 morbid
Definition
having an unusual interest in death or unpleasant events