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bhut

bhut

9.9
A ghost in South Asian stories that people believe haunts places or people
  • noun
  • Indian
translation icon : fantasma

Examples

  • In many stories, a bhut is said to wander deserted roads at night.

  • Villagers believe the abandoned well is haunted by a bhut.

  • The children were afraid to enter the forest, fearing they might see a bhut.

  • The village is haunted by a bhut.

  • Many locals believe in bhuts and their powers.

  • In South Asian folklore, many believe that a bhut can haunt an abandoned house at night.

  • After hearing the stories about the bhut that roams the village, the children refused to go outside after sunset.

  • The old man told tales of a bhut that appeared near the river, frightening anyone who dared to approach.

Synonyms

ghast
vsbhut
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A frightening ghost that appears at night

is part of South Asian folklore not just an old literary scary apparition
hant
vsbhut
  • Archaic
9.9

A ghost that people say visits a place, often at night

is tied to South Asian folklore rather than being just an old dialect term

How Scary

demon
  • Literature
509 5.3
poltergeist
  • Literature
18 9.7
bhut
  • Indian
9.9
spirit
833 4.3
presence
108 4.9

Surface Forms

bhut singular
bhuts plural

Etymology

Bhut comes from the old South Asian word bhūta, used in Sanskrit and later in Hindi and Urdu as bhoot, which means 'being' or 'that which has been'. So a bhut is thought of as a 'being from the past', a spirit or ghost that once lived, which is why the word means a ghost today.