as in agony
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
that 20-page exam was a nightmare
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
survivors of a nuclear holocaust would surely face a nightmare existence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of nightmare
Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
The once highly regarded and pricey hub for tech dreamers and fledgling startups has devolved from a breeding ground for ingenuity and innovation — a place of hope — to something closer to an American nightmare.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026
Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
This is the nightmare scenario for California Democrats.
—Tom Charron, Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nightmare
Noun
Ashley Strand said her daughter also has nightmares and has seen, at age 14, impacts on her education.
—Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
The once highly regarded and pricey hub for tech dreamers and fledgling startups has devolved from a breeding ground for ingenuity and innovation — a place of hope — to something closer to an American nightmare.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
But the 22-year-old is not alone in having a nightmare individual performance on a high-profile sporting stage.
—Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
This is the nightmare scenario for California Democrats.
—Tom Charron, Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nightmare
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nightmare
Noun
-
The agony of America’s post-1945 wars has been their gradual inducement of a sense of futility.—
Fintan O’Toole,
The New York Review of Books,
9 Apr. 2026
-
As young fans gripped their face in agony, the older faces held their palms up in knowing shrugs.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
There are people like Les Wexner and Leon Black who have allegedly had such horrific abuse and there has not been any investigations.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Because their firstborn son had just died, and so that was horrific.—
Marc Weingarten,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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And through all this, Saariaho’s elaborately beautiful orchestration scintillates, jabs, caresses, and swerves, giving all that vivid misery a sheen of lyric glamour.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Fighting the obligations of motherhood leads to misery.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Dahl’s books are fanciful and imaginative, but also dark, cynical, and mean (and, unfortunately, often reflected his real-life ugliness), spinning stories in which gruesome and unpleasant fates befell rotten kids, and adults were frequently selfish, cruel, and not to be trusted.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
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The evidence at trial included a gruesome video showing Stanfier’s body in the trunk of a car, which had been shared with a woman Jordan-Brooks reportedly met while working at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Emeryville years earlier, court records show.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Barbie Ferreira delivers a gothic black look at the premiere of her new horror Faces of Death in Los Angeles on April 6.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
7 Apr. 2026
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Devastated by grief and horror beneath her armor, yet so valiant in public.—
TIME,
Time,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Zendaya and Robert Pattinson star in Kristoffer Borgli’s rug-pull rom-com, which follows a soon-to-be-married couple whose relationship implodes after a shocking revelation.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The series abruptly concluded with Lois' shocking pregnancy news and Malcolm just starting his freshman year at Harvard.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The vet said these acts would cause unnecessary and unjustified pain to the animals and are consistent with the definition of torture.—
S.E. Jenkins,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
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Light-bloom torture-test shots of colorful objects against completely black backgrounds also produced significant haze that tapered off gradually across the screen.—
Will Greenwald,
PC Magazine,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In the case of this April 1, Atlanta just experienced a horrible and tragic Wednesday in traffic.—
Doug Turnbull,
AJC.com,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Your cabdriver is taking you on a horrible route.—
Zach Schiffman,
Curbed,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nightmare.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nightmare. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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