Morbid

Having or showing an unusual or unhealthy interest in death, disease, or other disturbing subjects; often used to describe thoughts, humor, or curiosity that focus on morbidity.

adjective

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Imagine This

Picture a person who obsesses over crime scene photos and medical reports, carrying a journal filled with grim details, yet never acting on the impulse—this is morbid curiosity.

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Sounds Like

MOR-bid

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Looks Like

Root mor- relates to death or illness; visually similar to related words like morbidity and morose

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Remember This

Morbid is commonly paired with curiosity or humor (morbid curiosity, morbid humor). It does not mean gloomy in general or moral in nature; its core sense is an unhealthy preoccupation with death or disease.

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Other Forms

morbidlyadjective? no (adverb)

morbidlyadverb

morbiditynoun

morbidnessnoun

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Connect With

macabre, gruesome, grisly, ghastly, morbidity, mortality

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Note

Use with care; avoid describing people as morbid when you simply mean sad or gloomy. In medicine, 'morbid' can appear in phrases like morbid obesity, which indicates obesity with related disease risk. Also, avoid confusing with moribund, which means near death.

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Study Deeper

Examples

Her morbid curiosity about crime scenes led her to read gruesome articles late at night.
The film's morbid humor offended some viewers and drew mixed reviews.

Synonyms

macabregruesomegrislyghastlymorose

Antonyms

healthywholesomecheerful

Etymology

From Latin morbidus 'diseased, sickly', from morbus 'disease'. The sense evolved in English to describe unhealthy preoccupation with death or disease.

Mnemonic

Mnemonic: MORBID = More About Death. Visualize a tombstone inscribed with 'More About Death' to cue the meaning.