Brucker Bears 4-5: macabre

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

macabre

(adj) - Something that is macabre is shockingly unpleasant and horrific, and usually connected with death or with people being seriously hurt.

Synonyms: eerie, deathlike, dreadful, frightening, grim, spooky
Antonyms: living, normal, pleasant
Etymology: Early 15th Century French, from Danse Macabré meaning "dance of Death." The word macabre most likely came from the Latin name Machabæorum, which was the last name given to Judas, third son of Mattathias the Hasmonean, who was the leader of the religious revolt against Antiochus IV, 175-166 B.C.
Example: Some people feel that Halloween is a bit of a macabre celebration, so they dress up in eerie or spooky costumes. For me, today is all about the candy!

The song Danse Macabre (Dance of Death) was composed by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1874, and it is still used in eerie films today!

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