Definitions for nightmare
ˈnaɪtˌmɛərnight·mare

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. nightmare, incubus(noun)

   a situation resembling a terrifying dream

2. nightmare(noun)

   a terrifying or deeply upsetting dream

GCIDE(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Nightmare(n.)

   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.

   Etymology: [Night + mare incubus. See Mare incubus.]

2. Nightmare(n.)

   Hence: Any overwhelming, oppressive, or terrifying experience resembling a nightmare especially in the inability to escape from an unpleasant situation.

   Etymology: [Night + mare incubus. See Mare incubus.]

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. nightmare(Noun)

   A female demon or monster, thought to plague people while they slept and cause a feeling of suffocation and terror during sleep.

   Etymology: From night + mare.

2. nightmare(Noun)

   A very bad or frightening dream.

   I had a nightmare that I tried to run but could neither move nor breathe.

   Etymology: From night + mare.

3. nightmare(Noun)

   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.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Nightmare(noun)

   a fiend or incubus formerly supposed to cause trouble in sleep

   Etymology: [Night + mare incubus. See Mare incubus.]

2. Nightmare(noun)

   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

   Etymology: [Night + mare incubus. See Mare incubus.]

3. Nightmare(noun)

   hence, any overwhelming, oppressive, or stupefying influence

   Etymology: [Night + mare incubus. See Mare incubus.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. nightmare

   Song lyrics by nightmare -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by nightmare on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'nightmare' in Nouns Frequency: #2034

How to pronounce nightmare?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say nightmare in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of nightmare in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of nightmare in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of nightmare in a Sentence

1. Iman Chamoun:

   They took everything, the house, furniture, they even took the doors. The work of 25 years was lost in one minute... It's like living a dream, a nightmare.

2. Neymar Sr.:

   One more step was taken, indeed, a huge and definitive one, in the hard journey of this nightmare that we have lived in the last and never ending couple of months, son, let's make our life move on and on, always with the head held high, the heart calm and the peace and quiet of the innocent.

3. David Elsey:

   It's a nightmare from a recruitment perspective, you have such skilled people and can't do anything with them.

4. Angus Robertson:

   These revelations, if true, are extremely concerning. It reads as a nightmare catalogue of serious safety breaches, they add to what appears to be a chaotic, shambolic safety culture on these aged subs.

5. Jessica Levinson:

   Imagine that you get past those barriers, you've registered, you get the ballot, you send it in by Election Day you think is safe, but then the government-run postal service breaks down and fails you, by no fault of your own. That truly is the dystopian nightmare scenario.

Images & Illustrations of nightmare

Popularity rank by frequency of use