What does nightmare mean?
Definitions for nightmare
ˈnaɪtˌmɛərnight·mare
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word nightmare.
Princeton's WordNet
nightmare, incubusnoun
a situation resembling a terrifying dream
nightmarenoun
a terrifying or deeply upsetting dream
GCIDE
Nightmarenoun
A trerrifying or oppressive dream characterized by a sense of helplessness in the face of danger, extreme uneasiness or discomfort (as of weight on the chest or stomach, impossibility of motion or speech, etc.) or extreme anxiety, from which one wakes in a troubled state of mind.
Nightmarenoun
Hence: Any overwhelming, oppressive, or terrifying experience resembling a nightmare especially in the inability to escape from an unpleasant situation.
Wiktionary
nightmarenoun
A female demon or monster, thought to plague people while they slept and cause a feeling of suffocation and terror during sleep.
nightmarenoun
A very bad or frightening dream.
I had a nightmare that I tried to run but could neither move nor breathe.
nightmarenoun
Any bad, miserable, difficult or terrifying situation or experience that arouses anxiety, terror, agony or great displeasure.
Cleaning up after identity theft can be a nightmare of phone calls and letters.
Etymology: From night + mare.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Nightmarenoun
A morbid oppression in the night, resembling the pressure of weight upon the breast.
Etymology: night, and according to William Temple, mara, a spirit that, in the heathen mythology, was related to torment or suffocate sleepers.
Saint Withold footed thrice the would,
He met the nightmare, and her name he told;
Bid her alight, and her troth plight. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.The forerunners of an apoplexy are, dulness, drowsiness, vertigoes, tremblings, oppressions in sleep, and night-mares. John Arbuthnot, on Aliments.
Wikipedia
Nightmare
A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of discomfort, psychological or physical terror, or panic. After a nightmare, a person will often awaken in a state of distress and may be unable to return to sleep for a short period of time. Recurrent nightmares may require medical help, as they can interfere with sleeping patterns and cause insomnia. Nightmares can have physical causes such as sleeping in an uncomfortable position or having a fever, or psychological causes such as stress or anxiety. Eating before going to sleep, which triggers an increase in the body's metabolism and brain activity, can be a potential stimulus for nightmares.The prevalence of nightmares in children (5–12 years old) is between 20 and 30%, and for adults is between 8 and 30%. In common language, the meaning of nightmare has extended as a metaphor to many bad things, such as a bad situation or a scary monster or person.
ChatGPT
nightmare
A nightmare is a distressing or terrifying dream that typically occurs during sleep, causing feelings of intense fear, anxiety, horror, or discomfort. Often, it can lead to disturbed sleep and leave the person with vivid and disturbing memories after waking up.
Webster Dictionary
Nightmarenoun
a fiend or incubus formerly supposed to cause trouble in sleep
Nightmarenoun
a condition in sleep usually caused by improper eating or by digestive or nervous troubles, and characterized by a sense of extreme uneasiness or discomfort (as of weight on the chest or stomach, impossibility of motion or speech, etc.), or by frightful or oppressive dreams, from which one wakes after extreme anxiety, in a troubled state of mind; incubus
Nightmarenoun
hence, any overwhelming, oppressive, or stupefying influence
Etymology: [Night + mare incubus. See Mare incubus.]
Wikidata
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror. Sufferers usually awaken in a state of distress and may be unable to return to sleep for a prolonged period of time. Nightmares can have physical causes such as sleeping in an uncomfortable or awkward position, having a fever, or psychological causes such as stress, anxiety, and ingestion of opioid drugs used in pain killers such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. Eating before going to sleep, which triggers an increase in the body's metabolism and brain activity, is a potential stimulus for nightmares. Recurrent nightmares that can interfere with sleeping patterns and cause insomnia may require medical help.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Nightmare
nīt′mār, n. a dreadful dream accompanied with pressure on the breast, and a feeling of powerlessness to move or speak—personified as an incubus or evil-spirit.—adj. Night′marish. [A.S. niht, night, mara, a nightmare; cf. Old High Ger. mara, incubus, Ice. mara, nightmare.]
Suggested Resources
nightmare
Song lyrics by nightmare -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by nightmare on the Lyrics.com website.
British National Corpus
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'nightmare' in Nouns Frequency: #2034
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of nightmare in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of nightmare in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5
Examples of nightmare in a Sentence
This feels like a nightmare; I still cannot believe what has happened, since learning of my positive test just a few days ago, I have done everything possible, with the support of CKC and within a short period of time, to determine the source of the prohibited substance that was found in my sample so that I can prove that I am innocent and that I am an honest and clean athlete.
When she took the medication, she started having a hard time breathing, and she told her mom that her lips were burning, her throat, her eyes, they got so red that she couldn't talk. So she rushed her to the ER, and that's when they diagnosed her with the disease. And from there it has just spiraled to a nightmare.
It is every parents nightmare to lose a child. Its been a heavy and black night in Malmo, weve been in this situation before with similar events. This is what the police have warned about, namely an escalation of cruel and reckless violence in Malmo.
My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. (On succeeding Richard M Nixon as president)
It was so terrifying because this is my first earthquake. I thought it was a nightmare because I was so confused, the whole world was aggressively shaking.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for nightmare
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- nagmerrie, nagvreesAfrikaans
- كابوسArabic
- দুঃস্বপ্ন, কুস্বপ্নBengali
- malsonCatalan, Valencian
- sunniacciu, sonniacciu, sugnacciuCorsican
- noční můraCzech
- hunllefWelsh
- mareridtDanish
- Albtraum, Nachtmahr, Alptraum, AlbdruckGerman
- εφιάλτηςGreek
- inkubo, sonĝaĉo, premsonĝo, travivaĉo, koŝmaroEsperanto
- pesadillaSpanish
- õudusunenägu, košmaarEstonian
- amesgaiztoBasque
- کابوسPersian
- painajainenFinnish
- marraFaroese
- mauvais rêve, cauchemarFrench
- tromluíIrish
- mearan-cadail, trom-laigheScottish Gaelic
- pesadeloGalician
- દુઃસ્વપ્નGujarati
- סִיּוּטHebrew
- दुःस्वप्न, कुस्वप्न, बुरा सपनाHindi
- rémálom, lidércnyomásHungarian
- մղձավանջArmenian
- mimpi burukIndonesian
- martröð, hryllingurIcelandic
- brutto sogno, incuboItalian
- סיוטHebrew
- 悪夢Japanese
- კოშმარი, მაჯლაჯუნაGeorgian
- សប្តិអាក្រក់, ទុសុបិនKhmer
- ದುಃಸ್ವಪ್ನKannada
- 惡夢, 악몽Korean
- خهوی ناخۆشKurdish
- incubus, incubo, somnum exterreriLatin
- AlpdramLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- košmarasLithuanian
- murgiLatvian
- moepapa, moenanuMāori
- кошмарMacedonian
- аймшигMongolian
- nachtmerrieDutch
- marerittNorwegian
- giiwanaadingwaam, zegingwashiOjibwe, Ojibwa
- koszmarPolish
- pesadeloPortuguese
- ischier, darschalet, dischariel, derschalet, fulet, dischölRomansh
- coșmarRomanian
- кошмар, страшный сонRussian
- दुःस्वप्नSanskrit
- ноћна мора, košmar, кошмар, noćna moraSerbo-Croatian
- nočná mora, nočný motýľSlovak
- ankthAlbanian
- mardrömSwedish
- jinamiziSwahili
- அமுக்கிTamil
- నైట్మేర్Telugu
- ฝันร้ายThai
- bangungotTagalog
- kâbus, karabasanTurkish
- кошмарUkrainian
- کابوس, کسوپنUrdu
- 惡夢, ác mộngVietnamese
- kojmarVolapük
- tchôcmwårWalloon
- בײַזער חלום, נייטמערYiddish
- 惡夢Chinese
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"nightmare." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/nightmare>.
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