variants
or daemons
1
as in ghosts
an evil spirit
only in rare cases is the ancient rite of exorcism performed to cast out a troublesome demon
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terrors
a source of persistent emotional distress
a man who was finally able to conquer his demons and kick his drug habit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demons
The hottest mess in this brood, at least from outward appearances, is Josh (Thomas Sadoski), a firefighter battling demons, pills and booze.
—
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2026
The bought-in blue demons knew early on in the second year under Holtmann that a turnaround season was possible.
—Jori Parys, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026
Meant to sound ritualistic, Micay viewed the drums as a soundtrack for Henry exorcizing his demons.
—Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 2 Mar. 2026
Pete is the one who gets Kayce a job on the five-person marshal team and ends up being a big influence on his friend, despite battling his own demons.
—William Earl, Variety, 1 Mar. 2026
Are Hellebuyck’s playoff demons slain, then?
—Murat Ates, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–2018) Bruce Campbell returns to the role he was born to play in this comedy-horror series 30 years after vanquishing body-possessing demons in The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), and Army of Darkness (1992).
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026
The Kim clan conquered real demons long ago.
—Margaret Heidenry, Vanity Fair, 24 Feb. 2026
Private is the mystery incandescence of her nacre, coveting which the likes of us killed her ancestors to make buttons, souvenirs, entire garments for ritual dancers who sought to banish their demons with her magical inner light.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2026
The bought-in blue demons knew early on in the second year under Holtmann that a turnaround season was possible.
—Jori Parys, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026
Meant to sound ritualistic, Micay viewed the drums as a soundtrack for Henry exorcizing his demons.
—Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 2 Mar. 2026
Pete is the one who gets Kayce a job on the five-person marshal team and ends up being a big influence on his friend, despite battling his own demons.
—William Earl, Variety, 1 Mar. 2026
Are Hellebuyck’s playoff demons slain, then?
—Murat Ates, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–2018) Bruce Campbell returns to the role he was born to play in this comedy-horror series 30 years after vanquishing body-possessing demons in The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), and Army of Darkness (1992).
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026
The Kim clan conquered real demons long ago.
—Margaret Heidenry, Vanity Fair, 24 Feb. 2026
Private is the mystery incandescence of her nacre, coveting which the likes of us killed her ancestors to make buttons, souvenirs, entire garments for ritual dancers who sought to banish their demons with her magical inner light.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demons
Noun
-
The Paramount+ series, which follows a group of ghosts stuck in purgatory inside their high school, uses its premise — characters tethered to different decades — as both a narrative engine and a musical one.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
5 Mar. 2026
-
This may explain something about ghosts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
What could be worse than these twin terrors?—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Almost every one of Arsenal’s title-winning seasons in living memory has had a moment where the terrors set in.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Some Ottomans believed that Alawites were possessed by devils.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Mar. 2026
-
There are sounds and shadows in the forest; the Devil, or devils, may be walking the earth.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In that final part of the cycle—the writing part—were torments, perhaps even tortures, but good things happened.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
-
As a poet, publisher, and public intellectual, Ferlinghetti spent the rest of his career resisting the very torments Judge Horn said haunted the post-war world.—
Gioia Woods,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This also marks the first time players can become ghouls themselves in the mainline story.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Now working as a stocker, Ash accidentally unleashes undead ghouls after reading from the Necronomicon, forcing him to take up his chainsaw yet again to save humanity from the Deadites.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Eternally Yours will tell an eternal love story about two vampires, Charles (Ed Weeks) and Liz (Allegra Edwards), who have been married for five hundred years, and their struggles to accept the human who is dating their daughter Emma (Helen J Shen).—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The movie is set in the Mississippi River Delta during the 1930s and tackles themes of music, race, family, religion and vampires.—
Yi-Jin Yu,
ABC News,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Some small changes might lift your spirits.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Assuming that businesses passed the entire fee to consumers, as expected, costs would rise about 3 cents for six 12-ounce beer cans, 5 cents for a standard-sized wine bottle and 26 cents for a fifth of spirits.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Kayce’s days are spent wrangling horses, and his evenings being haunted by nightmares of tragedies past.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Audre Lorde kept track of her nightmares and talked about going from the nightmare to the poem.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demons. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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