dementor
2
9.4
- noun
- /dɪˈmɛntər/
- Literature
:
dementor
- In the dark corners of the castle, the dementors lingered, sucking the happiness from the terrified students.
Examples
-
During the Quidditch match, the team was distracted by the ominous presence of dementors hovering above the field.
-
Dementors don'tjust wander into a Muggle suburb... ...and happen across a wizard.
-
We overheard them talking about the Dementor attack.
-
Third year, he fought Off about a hundred Dementors at once.
-
Dementors are, after all, under the control of the Ministry of Magic.
-
The grounds are crawling with Death Eaters and Dementors.
-
Dementors, the deadly phantoms that guard Azkaban Prison, represent depression and were based on Rowling's struggle with the disease.
Blog text (4) -
A chill filled the air as the dementors approached, leaving a trail of despair in their wake.
Synonyms
∞
2.2
A large frightening imaginary creature often made of human and animal parts
1
9.9
A monster in stories and games that lives in darkness and eats people
Surface Forms
Morphology
dementor = demented (semi-transparent) = dement + or
The agentive suffix '-or' and the relation to 'dement(ed)' (mental disturbance) are recognisable, but the specific fictional meaning (a creature that drains happiness) is a literary invention not directly derivable by learners.
Etymology
Dementor was invented for the Harry Potter books and looks like the parts de- 'down' and ment 'mind'. That's why a dementor is a creature that pushes your mind down and takes away your happiness.