daemon
Americannoun
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Classical Mythology.
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a god.
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a subordinate deity, as the genius of a place or a person's attendant spirit.
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a demon.
noun
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a demigod
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the guardian spirit of a place or person
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a variant spelling of demon
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of daemon
< Latin daemōn a spirit, an evil spirit < Greek daímōn a deity, fate, fortune; compare daíesthai to distribute
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.
Whether sinful passions or unconscious destructive urges, distracting attachments or visceral impulses, desire is the daemon that makes us act, often against our own interests and those of others.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
And that little standoff between her daemon, the Golden Monkey, and the Spectre, right after the witch is killed in Cittàgazze—how does it relate to this journey that Mrs. Coulter is making?
From Slate • Dec. 29, 2020
At the same event, actor Scott said he and Waller-Bridge were together once more, with the UK actress voicing the Irishman's daemon.
From BBC • Jul. 24, 2020
Well, my son responded to the sights, sounds, smells, lights, queues and endless wooden-arts-and-crafts stalls as if he were my daemon.
From The Guardian • Dec. 24, 2019
In the days that followed, Lyra went everywhere with Mrs. Coulter, almost as if she were a daemon herself.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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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.