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Definition of "macabre" []

  • Suggesting the horror of death and decay; gruesome: macabre tales of war and plague in the Middle Ages. See Synonyms at ghastly. (adjective)
  • Constituting or including a representation of death. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "macabre" in a sentence
  • "It's difficult to describe the illustrations of Edward Gorey without using the word "macabre.""
  • "There is a certain macabre sense of voyeurism throughout The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, partly because the movie lays bare the inner workings of the imagination, but largely due to the fact that this film serves as the final film from Heath Ledger."
  • "I didn't pursue it with a Goth kid's reverence (and besides, anyone who tries to apply here who gives the boss a feeling that they like the Cure and use the word macabre more often than the next guy is swiftly shown the door), but with a sense of irony, or at least what my eighteen year old brain thought was a sense of irony."