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- Dictionarynightmare/ˈnʌɪtmɛː/
noun
- 1. a frightening or unpleasant dream: "I had nightmares after watching the horror movie" Similar
- 2. a very unpleasant or frightening experience or prospect: "the nightmare of racial hatred" Similar
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NIGHTMARE definition: 1. a very upsetting or frightening dream: 2. an extremely unpleasant event or experience or…. Learn more.
noun. night· mare ˈnīt-ˌmer. Synonyms of nightmare. 1. : an evil spirit formerly thought to oppress people during sleep. 2. : a frightening dream that usually awakens the sleeper. 3. : something (such as an experience, situation, or object) having the monstrous character of a nightmare or producing a feeling of anxiety or terror.
1. countable noun B1. A nightmare is a very frightening dream. All the victims still suffered nightmares. Jane did not eat cheese because it gives her nightmares. Synonyms: bad dream, hallucination, night terror More Synonyms of nightmare. 2. countable noun B1+.
an extremely unpleasant event or experience or possible event or experience: The whole trip was a nightmare - we lost our luggage and both flights were delayed. Being trapped underwater is my worst nightmare. Fewer examples. LeFanu suffered all his life from a recurrent nightmare that he was trapped in a falling house.
an experience that is very frightening and unpleasant, or very difficult to deal with. The trip turned into a nightmare when they both got sick. (informal) Nobody knows what's going on—it's a nightmare! (informal) Filling in all those forms was a nightmare. Losing a child is most people's worst nightmare.
What does the word nightmare mean? There are six meanings listed in OED's entry for the word nightmare, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence. See meaning & use. How common is the word nightmare? About 7 occurrences per million words in modern written English. See frequency.
1. A nightmare is a very frightening dream. [...] 2. If you refer to a situation as a nightmare, you mean that it is very frightening and unpleasant. [...] 3. If you refer to a situation as a nightmare, you are saying in a very emphatic way that it is irritating because it causes you a lot of trouble. [emphasis] [...] More. Synonyms of 'nightmare'
NIGHTMARE definition: 1. a very unpleasant experience: 2. a frightening dream. Learn more.
A nightmare is not just a bad dream — it's seriously scary or upsetting. You can also use nightmare to describe something terrible that happens during the day. Your run-in with a skunk in your back yard might be a nightmare, for example, or your humiliating experience forgetting your lines in a play.
1. a terrifying dream producing feelings of extreme fear and anxiety. 2. a condition, thought, or experience suggestive of a nightmare.
