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
He isn't merely tormented by the barbarity of vampirism, which he refuses to indulge as far as that goes.
From Salon • Nov. 13, 2022
Down to the middle of the last century there was a belief in vampirism in the east of Europe.
From The Mysteries of All Nations Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws Against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions Together With Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales by Grant, James, archaeologist
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.
