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vampire

noun
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vam·​pire | \ ˈvam-ˌpī(-ə)r How to pronounce vampire (audio) \

Definition of vampire

1 : the reanimated body of a dead person believed to come from the grave at night and suck the blood of persons asleep
2a : one who lives by preying on others
b : a woman who exploits and ruins her lover
3 : vampire bat
Other Words from vampire Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about vampire

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Other Words from vampire

vampiric \ vam-​ˈpir-​ik How to pronounce vampiric (audio) \ adjective
vampirish \ ˈvam-​ˌpī(-​ə)r-​ish How to pronounce vampirish (audio) \ adjective

Synonyms & Antonyms for vampire

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Examples of vampire in a Sentence

regarded debt collectors as vampires who made a living from the misery of others
Recent Examples on the Web Delphine Hicks—Caroline had waited for her beside the church steps one First Sunday (big meeting day) and had thrown her to the ground and robbed the abashed vampire of her underthings. — Zora Neale Hurston, Harper's magazine, "The Country in the Woman," 6 Jan. 2020 Pompous Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak), irreverent Laszlo (Matt Berry) and temptress Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) are among the vampires living on Staten Island for 200 years. — Mark Dawidziak, cleveland, "‘Watchmen’ and ‘Black Mirror’ among Top 10 TV shows for 2019," 29 Dec. 2019 Think of them as three feature-length movies set in 1897 as the titular vampire sets his sights on Victorian London. — Nick Romano, EW.com, "Dracula's Netflix premiere awakens in bloody trailers for Sherlock team's miniseries," 13 Dec. 2019 The 1922 silent German classic starring Max Schreck as the vampire will be accompanied by organist Scott Smith on the theater's Wurlitzer organ. — Steve Byrne, Freep.com, "Detroit's Top 10: Cool things to do this weekend, including Fall Beer Fest, Luke Bryan," 23 Oct. 2019 And then there's Inhuman Kiss from Thailand, in which a seemingly normal girl turns vampire by night. — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, "Oscars: International Film Race Puts Spotlight on Extreme Female Characters," 8 Nov. 2019 The narratives players explore in RuneScape can be silly, like baking a cheesecake, or honorable, like slaying an evil vampire. — Matthew De Silva, Quartz, "What I learned from getting scammed by 12-year-olds," 22 Oct. 2019 As work keeps getting more complex, fast-paced, and demanding, time vampires have a maddening way of multiplying. — Anne Fisher, Fortune, "Deloitte’s Plan for Fighting Employee Burnout: Let AI Take Over the Dreaded HR and IT Tasks," 1 Sep. 2019 The scientists documented all characters that were identified as vampire victims, compiling a list of symptoms and the length of time those symptoms lasted. — Fox News, "Bram Stoker's vampire victim shows 'textbook' leukemia symptoms," 22 Nov. 2019

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

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First Known Use of vampire

1732, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for vampire

borrowed from French, borrowed from German Vampir, borrowed from Serbian vampir

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Time Traveler for vampire

Time Traveler

The first known use of vampire was in 1732

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Statistics for vampire

Last Updated

9 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Vampire.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vampire. Accessed 21 January 2020.

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More Definitions for vampire

vampire

noun
How to pronounce vampire (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of vampire

in stories : a dead person who leaves the grave at night to bite and suck the blood of living people

See the full definition for vampire in the English Language Learners Dictionary

vampire

noun
vam·​pire | \ ˈvam-ˌpīr How to pronounce vampire (audio) \

Kids Definition of vampire

: the body of a dead person believed to come from the grave at night and suck the blood of sleeping people

vampire

noun
vam·​pire | \ ˈvam-ˌpī(ə)r How to pronounce vampire (audio) \

Medical Definition of vampire

: vampire bat

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More from Merriam-Webster on vampire

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for vampire

Spanish Central: Translation of vampire

Nglish: Translation of vampire for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of vampire for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about vampire

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