macabre

adjective

ma·​ca·​bre mə-ˈkäb How to pronounce macabre (audio) -ˈkä-brə How to pronounce macabre (audio)
-bər,
-ˈkäbrᵊ
1
: having death as a subject : comprising or including a personalized representation of death
The macabre dance included a procession of skeletons.
2
: dwelling on the gruesome
a macabre presentation of a tragic story
3
: 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 Both Kline’s techno-purgatory and Jude’s macabre road movie are damning portraits of modern work life. Beatrice Loayza, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024 To Feature Game-Changing, Super-Fast Upgrade, New Leak Claims Some people are benefiting from the war economy, including in macabre ways, like death benefits for their husbands or sons, while others are dealing with inflation and declining spending on things like health care. Stuart Anderson, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 Following the death of her overbearing mother, a stop-motion animator (Aisling Franciosi) creates macabre puppets for a new movie about a scared girl being hunted by a dark figure and is driven mad when the creepy characters come to terrifying life. Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024 There, a fentanyl cook—who calls himself Miguel—carries out macabre experiments on a handful of consumers, who test the merchandise before it’s shipped off to the United States. Seyward Darby, Longreads, 29 Jan. 2024 His comment, albeit macabre, reflects dark humor and a willingness to face fringe situations with pragmatism tinged with irony. Javier Hasse, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Hopefully, nothing too macabre will wind up on menus. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Feb. 2024 Later Twilight Zone ventures, however, didn't quite scratch the same macabre itch, with the 1983 anthology-style film and three television reboots suffering without Serling's trademark penmanship and presence. Will Harris, EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023 On its face, the new season is an eerily macabre murder mystery set against the inhospitable landscape of frozen perpetual night. Caroline Reilly, Glamour, 9 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'macabre.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French, from (danse) macabre dance of death, from Middle French (danse de) Macabré

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of macabre was in 1841

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near macabre

Cite this Entry

“Macabre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/macabre. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

macabre

adjective
ma·​ca·​bre mə-ˈkäb(-rə) How to pronounce macabre (audio) -ˈkäb-ər How to pronounce macabre (audio)
-ˈkäbrᵊ
1
: having death as a subject
2
: marked by or arousing horror

More from Merriam-Webster on macabre

Last Updated: - Updated Did you know?
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!