succubus

noun

suc·​cu·​bus ˈsə-kyə-bəs 

plural succubi ˈsə-kyə-ˌbī  -ˌbē 

: a demon assuming female form to have sexual intercourse with men in their sleep compare incubus

Examples of succubus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lopez’s Spider Woman gets a bad pixie wig and even more garish goth costuming appropriate for a bewitching, bitchy succubus. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025

That includes, but is not limited to...actual humans, DMs, AI bots or succubus demons. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024

But the most infamous demonic teen girl of the 21st century is Jennifer Check, the hot cheerleader turned boy-eating succubus in Karyn Kusama’s cult favorite Jennifer’s Body, written by Diablo Cody and released 15 years ago today. —Rafaela Bassili, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2024

There are returning characters, like the elf and succubus couple who are now planning their wedding or the actual alien who is trying to fit in on Earth. —Andrew Webster, The Verge, 20 Apr. 2023

Those who had hoped to fund their retirements by selling off their holdings of vintage Victorian poltergeist detectors and Edwardian succubus trackers may now have to dump their collections at fire-sale prices and retreat back to the relative security of municipal bonds. —Joe Queenan, WSJ, 30 July 2022

In it, a succubus named Temptation (Cynthia Bond) pursues Joel (Bond III), a sheltered 21-year-old from the country who’s studying for the ministry, in hopes of corrupting him. —Robert Daniels, Vulture, 28 July 2022

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Medieval Latin, alteration of Latin succuba paramour, from succubare to lie under, from sub- + cubare to lie, recline

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

succubus

noun

suc·​cu·​bus ˈsək-yə-bəs 

plural succubi -ˌbī  -ˌbē 

: an imaginary demon assuming female form and formerly held to have sexual intercourse with men in their sleep compare incubus sense 1