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macabre definition

ma·ca·bre (mə käb′rə, mə käb′, -kä′bər)

adjective

grim and horrible; gruesome; ghastly
also macaber ma·ca′·ber (-kä′bər)

Etymology: Fr < OFr (danse) Macabré, (dance) of death, prob. altered < ML (Chorea) Machabaeorum, lit., dance of the Maccabees (see Maccabees): semantic connection obscure

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

macabre Synonyms

macabre

modif.

grotesque, horrible, ghastly, grim; see offensive 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

macabre Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • fascination: I've always had a somewhat macabre fascination with true-life crime stories.

Modifying Another Word

  • somewhat: One of the major tourist sights in Moscow, however, is a somewhat macabre reminder of communist Russia's heyday.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: It seems too macabre to suggest that she was a mourner at another funeral, stricken down suddenly on the platform and promptly buried!
macabre usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"macabre." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/macabre>

APA Style

macabre. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/macabre

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