Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
😈 A possessed person 👹 Like a demon
demoniac

demoniac

9.9
A person who seems controlled by an evil spirit
  • noun
  • /dɪˈmoʊniæk/
  • Archaic
translation icon : demoníaco

Examples

  • Like Legion, who inhabited the Gadarene demoniac, they would refuse.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The townspeople were frightened by the demoniac who wandered the streets at night.

  • People believed the demoniac was influenced by dark forces, acting violently toward anyone nearby.

  • In the story, a demoniac was freed from torment after a powerful exorcism.

Antonyms

angel
881 1.8

A religious being with wings believed to bring messages or help from God

saint
308 3.9

A very holy, kind person often officially declared by the Church

Surface Forms

demoniac singular
demoniacs plural

Morphology

demoniac = demon (transparent) = demon + iac

Formed from 'demon' + the suffix '-iac' meaning a person characterized by or affected by, so the noun sense is directly inferable from 'demon'.

Etymology

The word demoniac comes from demon, which goes back to the old Greek word daimon meaning 'spirit'. People once used it for someone thought to be filled or controlled by an evil spirit, so a demoniac is a person believed to be possessed.