nightmare
night·mare
noun
1.
a situation resembling a terrifying dream
2.
a terrifying or deeply upsetting dream
Origin
From Middle English nyghtmare, from Old English *nihtmare, equivalent to night + mare (“evil spirit believed to afflict a sleeping person”). Cognate with Scots nichtmare and nichtmeer, Dutch nachtmerrie, Middle Low German nachtmār, German Nachtmahr.
Phrases
- logistical nightmare
- night terror
- nightmare disorder
- nightmare fuel
- out of a nightmare
- sleep paralysis
Related words
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.