as in demon
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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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Things become complicated when a popular rival boy band, The Saja Boys, are revealed to be demons.—
Laura Sirikul,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
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Despite decades away from the musical mainstream in the 1970s and '80s, when his psychological demons were most aggressive, Wilson's towering impact was never in question.—
Marco della Cava,
USA Today,
12 June 2025
Noun
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Aeacus, a judge of the dead, and Thanatos, winged daemon of death, are chthonic.—
Lewis Hyde,
Harpers Magazine,
18 June 2025
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The Rose Field begins where the second book, The Secret Commonwealth leaves off: Lyra alone in a city full of daemons, or physical projections of a person's soul, looking for Pantalaimon as her mentor, Malcolm Polstead, searches for her.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
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But just before all the banshee wailing threatens to overwhelm proceedings, along comes a hypnotic tribal beat which briefly turns the wake into a party.—
Jon O'Brien,
Vulture,
13 May 2025
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Our ears are still ringing from watching fans become shrieking banshees upon realizing that one of her professional dancers was actually the NFL star.—
Lauren Huff,
EW.com,
7 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Some titles are now out of print, but these classic horror stories are a great foray into the world of ghosts, ghouls, and things that go bump in the night.—
Marilyn La Jeunesse,
Parents,
10 Apr. 2025
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Despite those forty-three words, the ghoul that the North Carolina Freedmen’s Convention feared most had risen—caste preservationists debuted a new caste system.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 June 2025
Noun
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At least until quarter to 2, when Lindsay Lohan whorls through the door like a raspy chaos phantom.—
Jeff Weiss,
HollywoodReporter,
12 June 2025
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But does Chuck let this phantom haunt him into adulthood?—
Ashley Boucher,
EW.com,
7 June 2025
Noun
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This is a pen that is both weighty and lighthearted – fitting for the home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, whose life of bonhomie and good cheer was disrupted by adventure and dragons and ring wraiths and war.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
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The First Shadow was an effect as magical as the telekinetic wraiths emanating above the actors’ bodies.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The mushroom’s healing properties also lead to hallucinations, often involving mysterious white imps, who should be adorable and instead come across as menacing little ghouls.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
18 June 2025
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And Dot — well, Dot keeps an imp in an old wine bottle.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
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But South dismissed the possibility of Democrats’ identity and messaging problems after last year’s election being exacerbated by Musk’s departure and his absence as a bogeyman.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
1 June 2025
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Sam: Bruno Fernandes is the bogeyman, plain and simple.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incubus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incubus. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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