moribund
mor·i·bund/ˈmɔːɹɪbʌnd/adjective, noun
moribund is spelled M-O-R-I-B-U-N-D: 8 letters and 3 syllables (mor·i·bund). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, moribund means “Approaching death; about to die; dying; expiring” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in moribund?
| Letters | 8: M-O-R-I-B-U-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: mor·i·bund |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,775th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is moribund?
Moribund appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce moribund?
- US /ˈmɔːɹɪbʌnd/
Moribund has 3 syllables, split mor·i·bund in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-moribund.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of moribund
- moribunds plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does moribund mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Approaching death; about to die; dying; expiring.
- 2
Almost obsolete; nearing an end.
noun
- 1
A person who is near to dying.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Moribund in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense approaching death:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | moribond, mourant |
| German | moribund, todgeweiht |
| Portuguese | moribundo, morrediço, morrente |
| Spanish | moribundo, mortecino |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does moribund come from?
From Latin moribundus (“dying”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).