nightmare
Americannoun
-
a terrifying dream in which the dreamer experiences feelings of helplessness, extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc.
- Synonyms:
- phantasmagoria
-
a condition, thought, or experience suggestive of a nightmare.
the nightmare of his years in prison.
-
(formerly) a monster or evil spirit believed to oppress persons during sleep.
noun
-
a terrifying or deeply distressing dream
-
-
an event or condition resembling a terrifying dream
the nightmare of shipwreck
-
( as modifier )
a nightmare drive
-
-
a thing that is feared
-
(formerly) an evil spirit supposed to harass or suffocate sleeping people
Usage
Where does the word nightmare come from? Nightmares are scary and unpleasant. But you can rest easy knowing that the fascinating origin of the word nightmare makes it clear humans have been having them for hundreds of years.In Old English, a mare was a kind of evil or cursed spirit. Mares appear in all kinds of folklore, including German and Slavic stories. Mares were said to ride on people's chests at night, causing suffocation and bad dreams. These mares, often female, were known as nightmares (because they came at night).By the 16th century, the word nightmare came to refer to a sensation of suffocation or anxiety during sleep, and now simply a bad dream. While nightmares are terrifying, there is good news: at least most of us don't worry about evil spirits trying to suffocate us in our sleep anymore.The roots of these other words may get a rise—of laughter or surprise—out of you. Run on over to our roundup of them at "Weird Word Origins That Will Make Your Family Laugh."
Related Words
See dream.
Other Word Forms
- nightmarish adjective
- nightmarishly adverb
- nightmarishness noun
Etymology
Origin of nightmare
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I feel like I'm in some sort of Kafkaesque nightmare," she added.
From BBC
But a fresh nightmare was around the corner, when, three days later, she had to face him in the family courts to try and stop him having parental access to their children.
From BBC
“Offshore oil in California is a nightmare. The regulatory and reputational risks are off the charts,” said Robert Collier, CEO of BlueLift, a company that specializes in decommissioning offshore platforms.
He distanced himself from his impetuous comments of recent weeks, when he described his season with Ferrari as "a nightmare" and said he was not looking forward to 2026.
From Barron's
“I already have nightmares, grandpa,” says the kid.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
