Synonyms

nightmarish

American

[nahyt-mair-ish] / ˈnaɪtˌmɛər ɪʃ /

adjective

resembling a nightmare, especially in being terrifying, exasperating, or the like.

his nightmarish experience in a concentration camp.

Other Word Forms

nightmarishly adverb
nightmarishness noun

Etymology

Origin of nightmarish

First recorded in 1825–35; nightmare + -ish ¹

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.

South Korean stocks extended their recent nightmarish run on Monday after oil topped $100 a barrel for the first time since the aftermath of Russia invading Ukraine.

From Barron's

The 31‑year‑old admitted she had begun having strange, nightmarish dreams ahead of her big moment at London Fashion Week on Sunday.

From Barron's

Still, it hasn’t been a completely nightmarish trip across the Atlantic.

From The Wall Street Journal

They crawled and rested, crawled and rested, in a nightmarish pattern that repeated itself over and over again.

From Literature

It also extended a nightmarish stretch of Olympic finishes in Shiffrin’s otherwise outstanding career.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023