as in horrors
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
that 20-page exam was a nightmare
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Recent Examples of nightmares
My green dreams were now caterpillar nightmares.
—
Emily Bryn Williams, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026
Commuting nightmares Think your commute is bad?
—Kristin Scharkey, USA Today, 7 May 2026
Severino haunts his nightmares.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 4 May 2026
Aliens, dystopian nightmares, and twisted realities are more than likely provoking a reaction from viewers that flies a lot closer to terrified.
—Grace Dean, Space.com, 2 May 2026
The spooky environs created by production designer Til Frohlich are the stuff nightmares are made of; the murky bathtub, moldering linens and secret compartments that go bump in the night.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 2 May 2026
When the show picks up, Lorcan is experiencing a strange series of nightmares centered around a terrifying rabbit-faced man, a creature pulled from Celtic mythology known as a Pooka.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 1 May 2026
The spooky environs created by production designer Til Frohlich are the stuff nightmares are made of; the murky bathtub, moldering linens and secret compartments that go bump in the night.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 1 May 2026
But the War on Terror persisted and mutated into nightmares in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then Syria, which unleashed that darkness in the form of terrorist states and a refugee crisis that spread anti-Muslim and anti-migrant hatred to Europe, the United States, and beyond.
—Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026
Emily Bryn Williams, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026
Commuting nightmares Think your commute is bad?
—Kristin Scharkey, USA Today, 7 May 2026
Severino haunts his nightmares.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 4 May 2026
Aliens, dystopian nightmares, and twisted realities are more than likely provoking a reaction from viewers that flies a lot closer to terrified.
—Grace Dean, Space.com, 2 May 2026
The spooky environs created by production designer Til Frohlich are the stuff nightmares are made of; the murky bathtub, moldering linens and secret compartments that go bump in the night.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 2 May 2026
When the show picks up, Lorcan is experiencing a strange series of nightmares centered around a terrifying rabbit-faced man, a creature pulled from Celtic mythology known as a Pooka.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 1 May 2026
The spooky environs created by production designer Til Frohlich are the stuff nightmares are made of; the murky bathtub, moldering linens and secret compartments that go bump in the night.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 1 May 2026
But the War on Terror persisted and mutated into nightmares in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then Syria, which unleashed that darkness in the form of terrorist states and a refugee crisis that spread anti-Muslim and anti-migrant hatred to Europe, the United States, and beyond.
—Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nightmares
Noun
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The Braves couldn’t find the timely hit Friday and the house of horrors that is Dodger Stadium continued to be so for them in a 3-1 loss to the Dodgers.—
Chad Bishop,
AJC.com,
9 May 2026
-
But some of those horrors were missed on Thursday, thanks to the weather.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
And yet, in the scene on the Hill of Love, Lapid offers no self-questioning, no sense of cinematic exertion or trouble, in the fictional framing of the real agonies of Gaza.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The celebrated poet and memoirist, delves into the agonies of her decision and describes the emerging women’s liberation movement, of which Moore would soon become a participant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The bleak tortures Ohm concocts for his characters are as vile as the Bilberry’s fetid jacuzzi.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
But such judgments often come from a place of distance—from people who have never lived under a theocracy that imprisons, tortures, and kills with impunity.—
Nazanin Boniadi,
Time,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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For those millions of Americans, spring weather brings sniffles, itchy eyes, asthma exacerbation, and other miseries, with effects ranging from mild symptoms to serious medical emergencies.—
Keerti Gopal,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 2026
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Inarguably one of the best teams in the country annually, the Boilermakers had a string of March miseries.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
18 Mar. 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
Cite this Entry
“Nightmares.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nightmares. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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