macabre

Rarely ma·ca·ber

[muh-kah-bruh, -kahb, -kah-ber]

adjective

1. gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible.

2. of, pertaining to, dealing with, or representing death, especially its grimmer or uglier aspect.

3. of or suggestive of the allegorical dance of death.

macabre

/ -brə, məˈkɑːbə /

adjective

1. gruesome; ghastly; grim

2. resembling or associated with the danse macabre

Other Word Forms

• macabrely adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of macabre¹

First recorded in 1400–50; from French; compare late Middle English Macabrees daunce, from Middle French danse (de) Macabré, of uncertain origin; perhaps to be identified with Medieval Latin chorēa Machabaeōrum a representation of the deaths of Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers, but evidence is lacking; the French pronunciation with mute e is a misreading of the Middle French forms

Word History and Origins

Origin of macabre¹

C15: from Old French danse macabre dance of death, probably from macabé relating to the Maccabees, who were associated with death because of the doctrines and prayers for the dead in II Macc. (12:43–46)

Example Sentences

But as macabre as it can be, watching something go off the rails can be entertaining, too.

From Salon

Her sanguine — and mischievously macabre — response belies the fact that the fire, coupled with the long years of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused an extended fallow period during which she completely stopped creating art.

From Los Angeles Times

But onstage, her love of all things spastically weird and macabre makes her humor a fun and frightening project to unpack for fans and unsuspecting “normie” audiences alike.

From Los Angeles Times

It was a very much more sweet story, rather than this one, which is much more macabre, sort of inspired by Frankenstein, zombie movies.

From Los Angeles Times

Ortega, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, sparked a fashion movement among her young fans, who dressed in the character’s signature dark, macabre style.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• frightening www.thesaurus.com
• ghastly 
• ghoulish 
• grim 
• grisly 
• gruesome 
• lurid 
• morbid 
• spooky 
• weird