incubus
7 synonyms and 0 antonyms 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 →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an incubus and a succubus?
In folklore the incubus is the male figure and the succubus the female one. The names come from Latin verbs meaning to lie upon and to lie beneath. Both belong to the same body of medieval belief about spirits that visit sleepers.
What is the plural of incubus?
Both incubi, following the Latin, and incubuses are accepted. Incubi is the more usual form in writing about folklore.
Is the incubus connected to sleep paralysis?
Many historians and doctors think so. Sleep paralysis often involves waking immobility and a crushing weight on the chest, which matches the old descriptions closely and may explain why the belief was so widespread.