macabre
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macabre
- /ˌməˈkɑː.bɹə/ UK
- /ˌməˈkɑː.bə/ UK
- /məˈkɑb/ US
- /ˌməˈkɑ.bɹə/ US
- /ˌməˈkɑ.bəɹ/ US
Sounds like McCobb · Rhymes with -ɑːbə(ɹ), -ɑb (US), -ɒb
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French macabre, whose etymology is uncertain. Possibly from the term danse macabre, most commonly believed to be from corruption of the biblical name Maccabees; compare Latin Chorea Machabaeorum.
Another theory derives the French term (through Spanish macabro) from Arabic مَقَابِر (maqābir, “cemeteries”), plural of مَقْبَرَة (maqbara) or مَقْبُرَة (maqbura).
adjective more macabre · most macabre
- Representing or personifying death. There are four fundamental figures. One is a man measuring and comparing his world[…] In front of him is a macabre figure, a cadaver ready to be dissected. This symbolizes man serving mankind. The third figure is the scientist, the man who makes use of the information gathered in the first two field
- Obsessed with death or the gruesome. Indeed, in the 1854 draft of Tristan he planned to have Parzival visit the dying knight, and both operas display the same macabre obsession with bloody gore and festering wounds.
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Ghastly, shocking, terrifying.
The appeal of the spectrally macabre is generally narrow because it demands from the reader a certain degree of imagination and a capacity for detachment from every-day life.
Similar: ghastly, horrifying, shocking, terrifying
Translations
Every language
adj representing or personifying death
| Español | macabro |
|---|---|
| Português | macabro |
| Français | macabre |
| Deutsch | makaber |
| Ελληνικά | μακάβριος makávrios |
| Română | macabru |
| Русский | макабрический makabričeskij |
Talk about this word "macabre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/macabre. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. macabre. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/macabre "macabre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/macabre.Cite this
@misc{macabre_2026,
title = {macabre},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/macabre},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
