night terror

noun

Psychiatry.

1. a sudden feeling of extreme fear that awakens a sleeping person, usually during slow-wave sleep, and is not associated with a dream or nightmare.

Word History and Origins

Origin of night terror¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Our episode didn’t capture scenes of us consoling the oldest when his night terrors returned or taking calls from school on shoot days when the youngest begged to come home.

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But there’s a new twist that threatens to undermine the unflappable protagonist, and it’s a teenager’s worst nightmare — even for a girl who enjoys night terrors.

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She also testified she suffered night terrors and paranoia as a result of the evening.

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Her night terrors are causing her to flunk out of college, and her roommate demands that she go home and get some answers so that she can get some sleep.

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But she said he had suffered from night terrors since that day, and that she suspected they were caused by the trauma of being locked on the bus.

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