Jane did not eat cheese because it gives her nightmares.
Synonyms: bad dream, hallucination, night terror More Synonyms of nightmare
2. countable noun
If you refer to a situation as a nightmare, you mean that it is very frightening and unpleasant.
The years in prison were a nightmare.
Synonyms: ordeal, trial, hell [informal], horror More Synonyms of nightmare
3. countable noun
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]
Taking my son Peter to a restaurant was a nightmare.
In practice a graduate tax is an administrative nightmare.
nightmare in British English
(ˈnaɪtˌmɛə)
noun
1.
a terrifying or deeply distressing dream
2.
a.
an event or condition resembling a terrifying dream
the nightmare of shipwreck
b.
(as modifier)
a nightmare drive
3.
a thing that is feared
4.
(formerly) an evil spirit supposed to harass or suffocate sleeping people
Derived forms
nightmarish (ˈnightˌmarish)
adjective
nightmarishly (ˈnightˌmarishly)
adverb
nightmarishness (ˈnightˌmarishness)
noun
Word origin
C13 (meaning: incubus; C16: bad dream): from night + Old English mare, mære evil spirit, from Germanic; compare Old Norse mara incubus, Polish zmora, French cauchemar nightmare
nightmare in American English
(ˈnaɪtˌmɛr)
noun
1. Folklore; Obsolete
an evil spirit believed to haunt and suffocate sleeping people
2.
a frightening dream, often accompanied by a sensation of oppression and helplessness
3.
any experience like a nightmare in its frightening or oppressing aspects
Derived forms
nightmarish (ˈnightˌmarish)
adjective
Word origin
ME nihtmare: see night & mare3
COBUILD Collocations
nightmare
bureaucratic nightmare
complete nightmare
recurring nightmare
worst nightmare
Examples of 'nightmare' in a sentence
nightmare
It would make things a total nightmare at work.
The Sun (2017)
I am still a nightmare '.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
FEAR about nightmare neighbours is people's main worry when they move home, a study says.
The Sun (2016)
What nightmare scenario had led me to this?
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
But anyone who has tried this will recognise that it becomes an administrative nightmare.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He was still a nightmare before a game because he became so focused.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It is the nightmare scenario for any golfer.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It would be a nightmare scenario.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Tuesday This forests thing is a nightmare.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It is both the dream and the nightmare of the Labour movement.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The telephone Having to speak on the telephone can be a nightmare for some people.
Hambly, Dr Kenneth Banish Anxiety - how to stop worrying and take charge of your life (1991)
The whole thing is a nightmare, quite exhausting.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
So she's just on the floor having this nightmare of a situation.
The Sun (2009)
It's as if the town has woken from a nightmare but is still dazed.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
A crackdown would be a costly administrative nightmare, they argue.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
She said: 'It was a nightmare.
The Sun (2015)
Nearly three quarters of shops have sales on as the nightmare combination of bad weather, squeezed budgets and eurozone fears conspire to keep shoppers at home.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
nightmare
British English: nightmare /ˈnaɪtˌmɛə/ NOUN
A nightmare is a very frightening dream.
She had nightmares for weeks after seeing the film.
American English: nightmare
Arabic: كَابُوسٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: pesadelo
Chinese: 噩梦
Croatian: noćna mora
Czech: noční můra zlý sen
Danish: mareridt
Dutch: nachtmerrie
European Spanish: pesadilla
Finnish: painajainen
French: cauchemar
German: Alptraum
Greek: εφιάλτης
Italian: incubo
Japanese: 悪夢
Korean: 악몽
Norwegian: mareritt
Polish: koszmar
European Portuguese: pesadelo
Romanian: coșmar
Russian: кошмарный сон
Latin American Spanish: pesadilla
Swedish: mardröm
Thai: ฝันร้าย
Turkish: karabasan
Ukrainian: кошмар
Vietnamese: cơn ác mộng
Chinese translation of 'nightmare'
nightmare
(ˈnaɪtmɛəʳ)
n(c)
恶(惡)梦(夢) (èmèng) (场(場), chǎng)
to have a nightmare做恶(惡)梦(夢) (zuò èmèng)
the bus journey was a nightmare乘公共汽车(車)旅行真是一场(場)恶(惡)梦(夢) (chéng gōnggòng qìchē lǚxíng zhēn shì yī chǎng èmèng)
1 (noun)
Definition
a terrifying or deeply distressing dream
Jane did not eat cheese because it gave her nightmares.
Synonyms
bad dream
hallucination
night terror
2 (noun)
Definition
a terrifying or unpleasant experience
My years in prison were a nightmare.
Synonyms
ordeal
the painful ordeal of identifying the body
trial
the trials of adolescence
hell (informal)
the hell of grief and lost love
horror
torture
Waiting for the result was torture.
torment
We spent our days in torment, waiting for news.
tribulation
the trials and tribulations of everyday life
purgatory
Every step of the last three miles was sheer purgatory.
hell on earth
Additional synonyms
in the sense of hell
Definition
a situation that causes suffering or extreme difficulty
the hell of grief and lost love
Synonyms
torment,
suffering,
agony,
trial,
nightmare,
misery,
ordeal,
anguish,
affliction,
martyrdom,
wretchedness
in the sense of purgatory
Definition
a situation of temporary suffering or torment
Every step of the last three miles was sheer purgatory.