incubus
8 synonyms for incubus, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — In medieval European folklore, a male demon believed to settle on people as they sleep and cause nightmares.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
In medieval European folklore, a male demon believed to settle on people as they sleep and cause nightmares.
“The manuscript describes an incubus pressing on the sleeper's chest.”
2. noun literary
A thing that oppresses or weighs heavily on someone, like a burden that cannot be shaken off.
“The debt sat on the household like an incubus.”
How to use incubus
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Literary and historical; the figurative sense is rare and quite formal.
Etymology
From Late Latin incubus 'nightmare', from incubare 'to lie upon'.
Full origin of incubus →