# macabre

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˌməˈkɑː.bɹə/ · frequency rank #31,641

## Definitions
1. Representing or personifying death.
2. Obsessed with death or the gruesome.
3. Ghastly, shocking, terrifying.

## Etymology
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).

## Easily confused with
- **McCabe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/macabre-vs-mccabe)

## Common misspellings (10)
`amcabre`, `maacbre`, `macabbre`, `macaber`, `macabrre`, `macarbe`, `macbare`, `maccabre`, `mcaabre`, `mmacabre`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/macabre