noun
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belief in the existence of vampires
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the actions of vampires; bloodsucking
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the act of preying upon or exploiting others
Etymology
Origin of vampirism
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.
In 1746, Antoine Augustin Calmet, a French Benedictine monk, published what Mr. Blair calls the “most influential academic work” on vampirism and shaped the emerging genre of Gothic fiction.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025
Some of the world's deadliest bacteria seek out and feed on human blood, a newly-discovered phenomenon researchers are calling "bacterial vampirism."
From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2024
When Jonathan comes under the count's spell and begins slipping into vampirism, it is Mina who must rescue him and join the hunt for Dracula in England.
From BBC • Sep. 5, 2023
Stunted vampirism is less of a problem for Guillermo than his realization that he's committed a crime punishable by death by going behind Nandor's back to be made by another vampire.
From Salon • Jul. 20, 2023
Some learned men have thought they discovered some vestiges of vampirism in the remotest antiquity; but all that they say of it does not come near what is related of the vampires.
From The Phantom World or, The philosophy of spirits, apparitions, &c, &c. by Christmas, Henry
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.
