dybbuk

noun

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dyb·buk | \ ˈdi-bək

plural dybbukim\ ˌdi-bu̇-ˈkēm

\ also dybbuks

Definition of dybbuk

: a wandering soul believed in Jewish folklore to enter and control a living body until exorcised by a religious rite

Examples of dybbuk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That dybbuk had set up shop in her mother’s stomach and had not wanted to leave. — Olga Tokarczuk, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2021 Parents must work together to save their young daughter from a dybbuk, a malevolent spirit that inhabits and ultimately devours its human host. — Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2021 The dybbuk stops here regardless, and The Vigil is nothing if not determined to break out every trick in the malevolent-spirit-run-amuck book to spook, unsettle, and jar you. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2021 When a little girl named Em unleashes a demon called the dybbuk—the taker of children—and becomes possessed, a series of scream-out-loud moments follow. 2. — Noelle Devoe, Seventeen, 8 Oct. 2014 The 48-minute, nine-part ballet takes its musical and choreographic impetus from the notion of the dybbuk, a lost and restless spirit found in Central-European Jewish folklore. — Robert Greskovic, WSJ, 8 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dybbuk.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.