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Recent Examples of incubus
The Devil’s Museum, a satellite of the main collection, has amassed more than 3,000 depictions of demons, evil spirits and incubus from around the world.
—
Joe Yogerst, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Your fame sits beside you like an incubus, and people are embarrassed and want to leave the room.
—Candace Bushnell, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2025
This meaning is visualized in Henry Fuseli’s 1781 painting The Nightmare, which shows a woman sleeping peacefully on a couch while a nauseating monster—an incubus—sits portentously on her abdomen, unbeknownst to her.
—Time, 28 Dec. 2022
As Tommy’s experiences in the tunnels of France mark a continued incubus for his character, with visions of being pulled into the mud, the sounding of the bell coincides with his own inner peace.
—Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 13 June 2022
An incubus is the male variety (and also that band).
—Angie Jones, Glamour, 17 Mar. 2022
Joe Yogerst, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Your fame sits beside you like an incubus, and people are embarrassed and want to leave the room.
—Candace Bushnell, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2025
This meaning is visualized in Henry Fuseli’s 1781 painting The Nightmare, which shows a woman sleeping peacefully on a couch while a nauseating monster—an incubus—sits portentously on her abdomen, unbeknownst to her.
—Time, 28 Dec. 2022
As Tommy’s experiences in the tunnels of France mark a continued incubus for his character, with visions of being pulled into the mud, the sounding of the bell coincides with his own inner peace.
—Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 13 June 2022
An incubus is the male variety (and also that band).
—Angie Jones, Glamour, 17 Mar. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incubus
Noun
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Centered on Zhong Kui, the iconic demon-quelling deity of Chinese folklore, the family-friendly adventure follows a young human girl named Chujiu who accidentally enters the underworld.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
1 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
Noun
-
Three species of bats inhabit the site, and supernatural events—including the appearance of the gamekeeper’s ghost and the wail of a banshee—have been reported.—
Patricia Doherty,
Travel + Leisure,
22 May 2026
-
Weaving, even more than before, makes Grace an ingénue gone banshee.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That’s the £312 million phantom.—
Maman Ibrahim,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
-
Such a designation, evidently, would save agents from wasting time chasing phantoms.—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Jittery housemaid Miss Lamb (Thomasin McKenzie) proves less trouble to manage, as Fred scares the wits out of her with bogus talk of a ghoul wandering the Moors.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
-
At the title track’s video shoot, Michael gives directorial instructions in full ghoul makeup.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
At her very best, Emily behaves like a petulant pre-adolescent spoiled imp.—
Liza Lentini,
SPIN,
14 Apr. 2026
-
The second was more bizarre: that some nasty imp in my psyche might decide that jumping was a good idea.—
Rosecrans Baldwin,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The score by Joseph Bishara is shivery with chorales that moan like wraiths in the wind.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Pilots can see bad weather lurking in the distance hours before takeoff, glowing like a wraith on their digital maps.—
Burkhard Bilger,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
African diasporic people’s contentious history with these formations of motherhood create specters of separation as reproductive injustice.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
Their involvement now raises the specter of another squeeze on energy markets already beleaguered by closures on the Strait of Hormuz and partly reliant on the Red Sea as an alternative passageway for energy supplies.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
Venus, on the other hand, reaches its highest altitude in the western evening twilight during June for this current apparition and captures the gaze of millions.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
5 June 2026
-
That late-game run––forty-four points to the Cavs’ eleven––was as soul-crushing to Cleveland as the apparition of Willis Reed, hobbling to center court, had been to the Lakers fifty-six years ago.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Incubus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incubus. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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