Link Centre Dictionary

macabre

ma·cabre

UK/ˌməˈkɑː.bɹə/ US/ˌməˈkɑː.bə/ uncommon

adjective

1.

shockingly repellent; inspiring horror

  • “ghastly wounds”
  • “the grim aftermath of the bombing”
  • “the grim task of burying the victims”
  • “a grisly murder”
  • “gruesome evidence of human sacrifice”
  • “macabre tales of war and plague in the Middle ages”
  • “macabre tortures conceived by madmen”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

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).

Phrases

  • danse macabre

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.