dybbuk

noun

dyb·​buk ˈdi-bək How to pronounce dybbuk (audio)
plural dybbukim ˌdi-bu̇-ˈkēm How to pronounce dybbuk (audio) also dybbuks
: 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 The family needed enough money to repair the havoc a dybbuk could wreak. Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 1 July 2024 Whether or not the real dybbuk box is cursed is up for debate. Megan McCluskey, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024 Like a dybbuk wrongfully possessing a soul, the disorder could be exposed and perhaps eliminated. Jeff Wheelwright, Discover Magazine, 20 May 2012 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 examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dybbuk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Yiddish dibek, from Late Hebrew dibbūq

First Known Use

circa 1903, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dybbuk was circa 1903

Dictionary Entries Near dybbuk

Cite this Entry

“Dybbuk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dybbuk. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on dybbuk

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!