lycanthropy
Americannoun
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a delusion in which one imagines oneself to be a wolf or other wild animal.
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the supposed or fabled assumption of the appearance of a wolf by a human being.
noun
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the supposed magical transformation of a person into a wolf
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psychiatry a delusion in which a person believes that he is a wolf
Other Word Forms
- lycanthropic adjective
Etymology
Origin of lycanthropy
From the Greek word lykanthrōpía, dating back to 1575–85. See lycanthrope, -y 3
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.
This laudable goal comes with no small risk, but one simple threat is perhaps not taken seriously enough: What if someone on one of these flights is stricken with lycanthropy?
From Scientific American • Oct. 27, 2023
His sister Clemence’s novella, “The Were-Wolf ,” is one of the most powerful stories ever written about lycanthropy.
From Washington Post • Jul. 10, 2017
As Silver charts realms of quackery and freak shows, lycanthropy and psychoanalysis, indoor plumbing and urban waterworks, she eventually brings together the pieces of this story like glass in a kaleidoscope patterning and coalescing.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2016
On 3 September - four days after the next full moon - many of the world's leading experts in lycanthropy will gather at the University of Hertfordshire for the UK's only werewolf conference.
From BBC • Aug. 21, 2015
Unlike bites, werewolf claw marks wouldn’t transmit lycanthropy, but Reyna knew firsthand that they healed slowly and burned like acid.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
