MEANING
1. Close to death, with life or bodily vitality failing.
2. Lacking activity or vitality to the point of stagnation or threatened collapse.
Use it for
Dying bodies, exhausted institutions, decline not yet completed.Capture the last stage before extinction rather than established ruin.
Words that belong together
- moribund patient
- moribund institution
- moribund estate economy
On the page
The physician stayed with the moribund patient through the night.
A new heir tried to revive the moribund estate business.
The order was moribund, with only three aging members left.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- moribund
Usage notes
Primary category: gothic. Literal for a dying person or organism; figurative for institutions. Does not necessarily mean already dead. Usually non-gradable; nearly moribund or effectively moribund expresses qualification.
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