noun

morbidity

mor-BID-uh-tee

Morbidity (noun) means the presence of disease or ill health in a person or a population, including how often a condition occurs and how much harm it causes. Example: “Smoking is a major cause of morbidity as well as death.”

noun

The presence of disease or ill health in a person or a population, including how often a condition occurs and how much harm it causes.

"Smoking is a major cause of morbidity as well as death."

"The trial measured both mortality and morbidity over five years."

A gloomy preoccupation with unpleasant subjects, especially death and decay.

"There is a strange morbidity running through his later poems."

How to Use Morbidity

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishHow much illness there is, rather than how many deaths.

When to use it

The health sense is standard in medicine and public health; the gloomy sense is literary.

Memory tip

Link morbidity to 'morbus', disease, and mortality to 'mortal', death.

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

mortality → comorbidity → morbid →

Common pairings

morbidity and mortality reduce morbidity maternal morbidity morbidity rate

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

Smoking is a major cause of _____ as well as death.

Etymology

From Latin morbidus 'diseased', from morbus 'disease'.

Origin: Latin

Rhymes for morbidity

city pity deity acuity parity entity brevity opacity paucity ability quality reality

See all rhymes for morbidity →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between morbidity and mortality?

Morbidity is about illness: who has a disease and how badly it affects them. Mortality is about death: how many people die and from what. A condition can have high morbidity and low mortality, as with arthritis.

What does comorbidity mean?

A comorbidity is an additional condition present alongside a main one, such as diabetes in a patient being treated for heart disease. Comorbidities often make treatment harder and outcomes worse.

How is morbidity measured?

Usually as incidence, the rate of new cases in a period, or prevalence, the share of a population living with the condition at a given time. Measures of disability and quality of life are also used.