nightmarish

[ nahyt-mair-ish ]

adjective

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

   his nightmarish experience in a concentration camp.

Other Words From

• nightmarish·ly adverb
• nightmarish·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of nightmarish¹

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

Example Sentences

Most of their goals have fallen well out of reach, lost amid the Trojans’ nightmarish October.

From Los Angeles Times

As firefighters patrolled the area for hot spots and helped grieving residents, neighbors retold their stories of the nightmarish day.

From Los Angeles Times

Adam Isacson, a migration and border expert from the Washington Office on Latin America, said that "nightmarish images" of mass deportations could also cost a potential Trump administration politically from a public relations standpoint.

From BBC

They come by the hundreds, all vying for the latest Labubu, a furry toy character with rabbit-like ears and a nightmarish grin stretched wide over a row of serrated teeth.

From Los Angeles Times

He runs down to the store’s basement, a nightmarish warren of shelves stuffed with what looks like tens of thousands of shirts, hoodies, and other unsold or not-yet-sold merchandise.

From Slate

Related Words

• awful
• chilling
• disquieting
• dreadful
• eerie
• ghastly
• grim
• grisly
• hair-raising
• hellish
• horrible
• horrid
• horrifying
• macabre
• scary
• spooky
• terrible
• terrifying
• traumatic