nightmare

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: knightmare, nightfire, nightmares, nightward, nightman, frightmare, nightjar, nightjars, night ape

Antonyms: knightmare, nightfire, nightmares, nightward, nightman, frightmare, nightjar, nightjars, night ape

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Noun

1. A very [[unpleasant]] or [[frightening]] [[dream]]. {{defdate|from 19th c.}}
2. {{lb|en|figuratively}} Any [[bad]], [[miserable]], [[difficult]] or [[terrify]]ing situation or experience that arouses [[anxiety]], [[terror]], [[agony]] or great [[displeasure]]. {{defdate|from 20th c.}}
3. {{lb|en|now|rare}} A [[demon]] or monster, thought to [[plague]] people while they slept and cause a feeling of [[suffocation]] and [[terror]] during sleep. {{defdate|from 14th c.}}
4. {{lb|en|now|chiefly|historical}} A feeling of extreme [[anxiety]] or [[suffocation]] experienced during sleep; [[sleep paralysis]]. {{defdate|from 16th c.}}

Verb

1. {{lb|en|intransitive}} To [[experience]] a nightmare.
2. {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[imagine]] (someone or something) as in a nightmare.
3. {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[trouble]] (someone or something), as by a nightmare.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.