Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: French
Origin: (danse) macabre 'dance of death', from earlier (danse de) Macabré, perhaps from Medieval Latin chorea Maccabaeorum 'dance of the Maccabees', a representation of the killing of the Maccabees, a Jewish family of Bible times

macabre

 adjective
     
ma‧ca‧bre
very strange and unpleasant and connected with death or with people being seriously hurt:
a macabre tale
a macabre sense of humour
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary