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
Together, the two men battle the forces of evil, each other, and their own demons on the path to salvation.
—
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 11 June 2026
Still, 51-year-old Rhys didn’t take Nile’s demons or Tom’s supernatural burden home.
—Emma Fraser, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
But vengeance demons don’t grant wishes to be helpful and Cordelia soon realizes she’s made a dreadful mistake.
—ArsTechnica, 7 June 2026
But the monster, in this case, is Onegin’s own inner demons.
—Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, DC, has removed a priest as an exorcist and cut ties with the priest's nonprofit organization over comments the priest made about UFOs and demons.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 4 June 2026
The Bosch follower panel, titled Hell, was packed with the strange creatures, demons, and punishments that made the artist famous.
—Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 3 June 2026
Frederik Andersen is leading the way for the Hurricanes while battling playoff demons and tragedy.
—Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 2 June 2026
In many ways, Rue’s fate had long been sealed, thanks to both her own personal demons and her tense spot between DEA agents and the crime boss Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2026
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 11 June 2026
Still, 51-year-old Rhys didn’t take Nile’s demons or Tom’s supernatural burden home.
—Emma Fraser, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
But vengeance demons don’t grant wishes to be helpful and Cordelia soon realizes she’s made a dreadful mistake.
—ArsTechnica, 7 June 2026
But the monster, in this case, is Onegin’s own inner demons.
—Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, DC, has removed a priest as an exorcist and cut ties with the priest's nonprofit organization over comments the priest made about UFOs and demons.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 4 June 2026
The Bosch follower panel, titled Hell, was packed with the strange creatures, demons, and punishments that made the artist famous.
—Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 3 June 2026
Frederik Andersen is leading the way for the Hurricanes while battling playoff demons and tragedy.
—Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 2 June 2026
In many ways, Rue’s fate had long been sealed, thanks to both her own personal demons and her tense spot between DEA agents and the crime boss Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demons
Noun
-
Beware the ghosts of IPOs past.—
Greg Bensinger,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
The cellist and guitarist collaborate on a set of relaxed, generous music that conjures ghosts of British folk and Pacific Northwest indie rock.—
Jayson Greene,
Pitchfork,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Any justice in the community would praise this murderer’s row of craftspeople working on the production design for the period town setting; makeup, especially Pennywise’s horrible face; sound design, for helping to keep the audio terrors churning along; and the costume work.—
William Earl,
Variety,
11 June 2026
-
Madonna has made music through various calamities that at the time felt world-ending — wars, political unrest, financial collapse — so the terrors of 2026 don’t seem to faze her.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Angels and devils working together to stop Armageddon.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
-
Ash devils can hurl hot embers in all directions and spark new fires, but this one harmlessly dissipated without spreading the blaze further.—
Blanca Begert,
Los Angeles Times,
3 May 2026
Noun
-
So too did Trump spiritual advisor Paula White-Cain, who compared the president’s torments to those of Jesus.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
17 Apr. 2026
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In the face of such grave concerns, Alyoshka’s torments seem self-indulgent and frustrating, but his problem—whether to leave or stay—is far from insignificant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Night of the Living Dead centers all the action at a farmhouse, where seven people attempt to ward off the ghouls — without any prior knowledge of how to do so.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 June 2026
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Created by a number of its stars, Ghosts originated on the BBC in 2019, following a group of ghouls from different historical periods haunting a country house while sharing the house with its new living occupants.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Who knew vampires made such a good metaphor for America’s worst excesses?—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
Lestat justifies his, uh, connection with Gabriella by arguing that vampires transcend petty human concepts like conventional morality.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
Call it fate or family tree, Anna Prillaman was born into the craft and culture of spirits.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 June 2026
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And getting the word out that everybody needs to watch and celebrate because the show is going to lift your spirits and bring a smile to your face.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
In addition to expressing trauma in the sessions, Alex also had nightmares that resulted in him not being able to sleep for more than one hour consistently, André recalled in the Netflix doc.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
5 June 2026
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Still, the omissions are striking as social media influencers, Letterboxd users, YouTube critics, true crime obsessives, and more power players in eventizing contemporary nightmares go unscathed.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demons. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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