nightmare
/ˈnaɪt.mɛɚ/noun, verb
nightmare is spelled N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,206th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nightmare means “A very unpleasant or frightening dream” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nightmare is nightmares.
How many letters and syllables are in nightmare?
| Letters | 9: N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,206th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is nightmare?
Nightmare appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,206th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nightmare?
- UK /ˈnaɪt.mɛə/
- US /ˈnaɪt.mɛɚ/
- US [nʌɪʔ.mɛəɹ]
Nightmare has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-nightmare.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of nightmare
- nightmares plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- nightmaring participle, present
- nightmared participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nightmare mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A very unpleasant or frightening dream.
I had a nightmare that I tried to run but could neither move nor breathe.
- 2
Any bad, miserable, difficult or terrifying situation or experience that arouses anxiety, terror, agony or great displeasure.
Cleaning up after identity theft can be a nightmare of phone calls and letters.
- 3
archaicA demon or monster, thought to plague people while they slept and cause a feeling of suffocation and terror during sleep.
- 4
A feeling of extreme anxiety or suffocation experienced during sleep; sleep paralysis.
Had been afflicted in the night with that strange complaint called the nightmare.
verb
- 1
To experience a nightmare.
- 2
To imagine (someone or something) as in a nightmare.
- 3
To trouble (someone or something), as by a nightmare.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nightmare in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cauchemar, mauvais rêve , tourment |
| German | Albtraum, Alptraum, Albdruck, Nachtmahr |
| Portuguese | pesadelo |
| Spanish | pesadilla, mal sueño , tormento, suplicio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nightmare come from?
From Middle English nyghtmare, from Old English *nihtmare, equivalent to night + mare (“evil spirit believed to afflict a sleeping person”). Cognate with Scots nichtmare and nichtmeer, Dutch nachtmerrie, Middle Low German nachtmār, German Nachtmahr.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).