macabre

or ma·ca·ber

[ muh-kah-bruh, -kahb, -kah-ber ]
/ məˈkɑ brə, -ˈkɑb, -ˈkɑ bər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR macabre ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible.
of, pertaining to, dealing with, or representing death, especially its grimmer or uglier aspect.
of or suggestive of the allegorical dance of death.

Origin of macabre

1400–50; < French; compare late Middle English Macabrees daunce < 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

Words nearby macabre

mableton, mabuse, mac, mac-, mac., macabre, macaco, macadam, macadamia, macadamize, macanese

Words related to macabre

spooky, ghastly, ghoulish, grisly, morbid, gruesome, weird, frightening, grim, lurid, cadaverous, deathly, dreadful, frightful, ghostly, hideous, horrible, offensive, scary, terrible

Example sentences from the Web for macabre

British Dictionary definitions for macabre

macabre
/ (məˈkɑːbə, -brə) /

adjective

gruesome; ghastly; grim
resembling or associated with the danse macabre

Derived forms of macabre

macabrely, adverb

Word Origin for macabre

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)