noun
incubus
ING-kyuh-buhss
Incubus (noun) means In medieval European folklore, a male demon believed to settle on people as they sleep and cause nightmares. Example: “The manuscript describes an incubus pressing on the sleeper's chest.”
noun
1
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."
"Church writers treated the incubus as a real danger rather than a bad dream."
2
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."
"Censorship was an incubus on the country's writers for a generation."
How to use incubus
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA demon from old stories that was said to sit on you while you slept.
When to use it
Literary and historical; the figurative sense is rare and quite formal.
Memory tip
The word nightmare originally meant much the same thing — a 'mare' was a spirit that pressed on sleepers.
Trace the full origin ↓
Easily confused with
Common pairings
the incubus of debt
medieval incubus
incubus and succubus
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The manuscript describes an _____ pressing on the sleeper's chest.
Etymology
From Late Latin incubus 'nightmare', from incubare 'to lie upon'.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for incubus
See all rhymes for 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.
What is the meaning of incubus?
"incubus" (noun) means in medieval European folklore, a male demon believed to settle on people as they sleep and cause nightmares.
