adjective
-
gruesome; ghastly; grim
-
resembling or associated with the danse macabre
Other Word Forms
- macabrely adverb
Etymology
Origin of macabre
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The lyrics breathe like literary miniatures, gleefully exploring social satire, the fantastic and macabre.
From Los Angeles Times
Their comically macabre Act 1 showstopper, “A Little Priest,” in which they gleefully imagine the variety of human pies, needs a little more time in the oven.
From Los Angeles Times
In contrast to the danse macabre sequences at the deathbed, Jill overhears the “celebratory sound” of a neighbor’s back yard evening wedding by torchlight.
From Los Angeles Times
He made me laugh with macabre jokes about how the only way for us to watch anything other than “PAW Patrol” on TV together was for him to get hospitalized.
From Los Angeles Times
Critics described the display as macabre and unsettling, arguing it crossed a line by transforming an assassination into a spectacle.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
