Damocles

American  

[dam-uh-kleez] / ˈdæm əˌkliz /

noun

1. a flatterer who, having extolled the happiness of Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, was seated at a banquet with a sword suspended over his head by a single hair to show him the perilous nature of that happiness.

---

idioms

1. sword of Damocles, any situation threatening imminent harm or disaster.

Damocles British  

/ ˈdæməˌkliːz /

noun

1. classical myth a sycophant forced by Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, to sit under a sword suspended by a hair to demonstrate that being a king was not the happy state Damocles had said it was See also Sword of Damocles

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Damoclean
  adjective

Example Sentences

Companies hope the trade disputes will settle down, but tariffs hang over the economy like the Sword of Damocles.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 16, 2025

But even then, the rare earths situation could stay unresolved, “hanging like a sword of Damocles over many companies’ heads,” Gave says.

From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025

After more than a year, the Maryland bar dismissed the charges; the D.C. bar charges remained a Sword of Damocles over my head for another eight years, rendering me both unemployed and unemployable.

From Salon • Jul. 17, 2025

The tragic message of Oppenheimer and “Oppenheimer” is that humankind has lived under a nuclear sword of Damocles ever since.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 31, 2023

The second week of January 1890, Jo writes to her sister, “It’s like a sword of Damocles forever hanging over our heads—I never really have a moment’s peace.”

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman