Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Approaching death; about to die.
  • adjective On the verge of becoming obsolete.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In a dying state.
  • noun A dying person.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective In a dying state; dying; at the point of death.
  • noun rare A dying person.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Approaching death; about to die; dying; expiring.
  • adjective Almost obsolete, nearing an end.
  • noun A person who is near to dying.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective being on the point of death; breathing your last
  • adjective not growing or changing; without force or vitality

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin moribundus, from morī, to die; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin moribundus ("dying")

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Examples

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  • "The patient, when first seen by him, was apparently moribund, in profound coma, with livid face and cold extremities."

    September 13, 2007

  • That's an effin' bingo.

    October 14, 2008

  • "...the tepid exhalations of a throbbing and groaning basement furnace were transmitted to the rooms with the faintness of a moribund's last breath."

    June 10, 2009