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View synonyms for nightmare

nightmare

[ nahyt-mair ]

noun

  1. a terrifying dream in which the dreamer experiences feelings of helplessness, extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc.

    Synonyms: phantasmagoria

  2. a condition, thought, or experience suggestive of a nightmare:

    the nightmare of his years in prison.

  3. (formerly) a monster or evil spirit believed to oppress persons during sleep.


nightmare

/ ˈnaɪtˌmɛə /

noun

  1. a terrifying or deeply distressing dream
    1. an event or condition resembling a terrifying dream

      the nightmare of shipwreck

    2. ( as modifier )

      a nightmare drive

  2. a thing that is feared
  3. (formerly) an evil spirit supposed to harass or suffocate sleeping people
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈnightˌmarishness, noun
  • ˈnightˌmarishly, adverb
  • ˈnightˌmarish, adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of nightmare1

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; night, mare 2
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Word History and Origins

Origin of nightmare1

C13 (meaning: incubus; C16: bad dream): from night + Old English mare, mære evil spirit, from Germanic; compare Old Norse mara incubus, Polish zmora, French cauchemar nightmare
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Synonym Study

See dream.
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Example Sentences

One woman, who the BBC is naming only as "Kay", explained how she had arranged to meet a man for the first time after connecting on a dating app, but the encounter turned into a nightmare.

From BBC

“I wanted her to beat Trump, but Harris winning would mean my family stays in the same nightmare we’ve come to know. Trump winning makes that nightmare more uncertain, and the ways it will harm my family less clear. But what is clear is that the U.S. government, whether Democrat or Republican, will keep sending weapons to Benjamin Netanyahu illegally. That’s what I have a problem with.”

From Slate

"I hate everything about this situation. It’s a nightmare to think about and I’m just glad nobody else is going to get hurt."

From BBC

"The ending is this continuous nightmare of not closing out a match," he told TNT Sports.

From BBC

But this one family’s grief is many people’s grief as it’s a nightmare replicated across the Valencia region which was hammered by flash flooding nearly two weeks ago, killing at least 219 people.

From BBC

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