different between macabre vs sickening

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French macabre, whose etymology is uncertain, but possibly derives from the term danse macabre – the attribute of which was construed as an adjective – most commonly believed to be from corruption of the biblical name Maccabees; compare Latin Chorea Machabaeorum.

Another theory derives the term from Spanish macabro, from Arabic ????????? (maq?bir, “cemeteries”), plural of ?????????? (maqbara) or ?????????? (maqbura). Borrowing Arabic in plural form is not unusual: a similar case is the word magazine, derived from the plural ????? max?zin of the Arabic singular noun ???? maxzan "storehouse/depot/shop".

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /m??k??b??/, /m??k??b?(?)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /m??k?b/, /m??k?b??/, /m??k?b?/
• Homophone: McCobb

Adjective

macabre (comparative more macabre, superlative most macabre)

1. Representing or personifying death.
   • 1941, George C. Booth, Mexico's School-made Society, page 106

     There are four fundamental figures. One is a man measuring and comparing his world […] In front of him is a macabre figure, a cadaver ready to be dissected. This symbolizes man serving mankind. The third figure is the scientist, the man who makes use of the information gathered in the first two fields of mensurable science.

2. Obsessed with death or the gruesome.
   • 1993, Theodore Ziolkowski, "Wagner's Parsifal between Mystery and Mummery", in Werner Sollors (ed.), The Return of Thematic Criticism, pages 274-275

     Indeed, in the 1854 draft of Tristan he planned to have Parzival visit the dying knight, and both operas display the same macabre obsession with bloody gore and festering wounds.

3. Ghastly, shocking, terrifying.
   • 1927 [1938], H. P. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature, Introduction

     The appeal of the spectrally macabre is generally narrow because it demands from the reader a certain degree of imagination and a capacity for detachment from every-day life.

   Synonyms: ghastly, horrifying, shocking, terrifying

Derived terms

• danse macabre

Translations

See also

• Danse Macabre on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

Anagrams

• carbeam

Catalan

Etymology

From French macabre

Adjective

macabre (feminine macabra, masculine and feminine plural macabres)

1. macabre

French

Etymology

From Danse Macabre (“dance of death”), from Old French, usually said to be from Macabé (“Maccabee”), in reference to a mystery play depicting their slaughter. See Maccabee.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.kab?/

Adjective

macabre (plural macabres)

1. macabre

Synonyms

• lugubre

Derived terms

• danse macabre

Further reading

• “macabre” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

References

Italian

Adjective

macabre

1. feminine plural of macabro

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma?ka.bre]

Adjective

macabre

1. nominative feminine plural of macabru
2. accusative feminine plural of macabru
3. nominative neuter plural of macabru
4. accusative neuter plural of macabru

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?k(?)n??/
• Hyphenation: sick?en?ing

Verb

sickening

1. present participle of sicken

Adjective

sickening (comparative more sickening, superlative most sickening)

1. Causing sickness or disgust.
2. (LGBT slang) Amazing, fantastic.
   • 2014, The Infamous Todd Kachinski Kottmeier, Drag King Guide: So You Want to Be a Male Impersonator, Lulu.com, ?ISBN, p. 188:

     Richard Cranium does sickening stuff (if your budget permits), stones from Charles Brennan and lots of imagination.

   • 2016, Juackie Huba and Shelly Stewart Kronbergs, Fiercely You: Be Fabulous and Confident by Thinking Like a Drag Queen, Berret-Koehler, ?ISBN, no page number:

     Latrice lives every day by her mantra, “It’s OK to make mistakes. It’s OK to fall down. Get up, look sickening, and make them eat it!” Translation: rise above your downfalls in life, and always look amazing while dismissing the haters.

   • 2017, Mayka Castellando and Heitor Leal Machado, “‘Please come to Brazil!’ The practices of RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Brazilian fandom”, in RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Shifting Visibility of Drag Culture, ed. by Niall Brennan and David Gudelunas, Springer, ?ISBN, p. 172:

     Back with the seventh season next March 2nd, RuPaul’s Drag Race promises to gather fans and followers in front of the computer to watch the new competition to crown the most sickening queen.

Translations

See also

• loathsome
• disgusting
• abominable
• detestable
• hateful

Noun

sickening (plural sickenings)

1. The act of making somebody sick.
   • 2010, Greg A. Marley, Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares

     In the Northeast, one porcini look-alike has been implicated in several sickenings. It is Boletus huronensis, and though some guides call it edible, there have been a few cases of people becoming sickened following a meal of this mushroom.