incubus

/ˈɪŋ.kjʊ.bəs/

//ˈɪŋ.kjʊ.bəs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"incubus" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“incubus” is uncommon English (frequency #51,770 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,770
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An evil spirit supposed to oppress people while asleep, especially to have sex with women as they sleep.

Corpus desk

Index EN-incubus · incubus · English

incubus · rank #51,770 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,770
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH improvisation…

Nearest frequency peer: improvisational (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “incubus”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “incubus” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for incubus
PropertyValue
Headwordincubus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɪŋ.kjʊ.bəs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#51,770
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “incubus” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).incubusfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “improvisational” (#51,769), “IMD” (#51,767), “inkjet” (#51,775). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “incubus” is #51,770. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

incubus is uncommon English at frequency #51,770 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɪŋ.kjʊ.bəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for incubus in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin incubus, from Latin incubō (“nightmare, one who lies down on the sleeper”), from incubō (“to lie upon, to hatch”, from in- (“on”) + cubō (“to lie down”)). The correct English form is incubus, spelled I-N-C-U-B-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    An evil spirit supposed to oppress people while asleep, especially to have sex with women as they sleep.
  2. 2
    A feeling of oppression during sleep, sleep paralysis; night terrors, a nightmare.
  3. 3
    Any oppressive thing or person; a burden.
  4. 4
    One of various of parasitic insects, especially subfamily Aphidiinae.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how incubus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. it increaseth fearful dreams, incubus, night-walking, crying out, and much unquietness […] .
  2. Again he felt the impulse of flight: but his body was a dry dead incubus that refused to obey his volition.

Etymology

From Late Latin incubus, from Latin incubō (“nightmare, one who lies down on the sleeper”), from incubō (“to lie upon, to hatch”, from in- (“on”) + cubō (“to lie down”)).

This word in other languages

íncubo(Español)incube(Français)Inkubus(Deutsch)íncubo(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "incubus"?
"incubus" is spelled I-N-C-U-B-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪŋ.kjʊ.bəs/.
What does "incubus" mean?
As a noun, "incubus" means: An evil spirit supposed to oppress people while asleep, especially to have sex with women as they sleep.
How do you pronounce "incubus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "incubus" is /ˈɪŋ.kjʊ.bəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "incubus"?
From Late Latin incubus, from Latin incubō (“nightmare, one who lies down on the sleeper”), from incubō (“to lie upon, to hatch”, from in- (“on”) + cubō (“to lie down”)). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "incubus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hydride#51,759Ivorian#51,782Hampson#51,742Kentish#51,799

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list