incubus
2
9.9
- noun
- /ˈɪŋkjʊbəs/
- After losing the job, the fear of financial instability turned into an incubus that haunted his every decision.
Examples
-
I was wondering how to be rid of the incubus.
Fiction book (1995) -
Your laws cannot crush the incubus.
-
Father Isaiah said this place was with the incubus.
-
But deep down, I knew that what I was doing made me a monster, an incubus, a weakling.
Fiction book (2000) -
I wanted to tell my children someday that I'd done what I could to get this incubus off America's back.
Blog text (15) -
What's an incubus?
-
She is with incubus.
-
What to do on those days, where to flee from the conflagration, from the incubus lying heavy on the chest in a torrid noontime nightmare?
Fiction book (1994) -
The constant criticism from his peers became an incubus that prevented him from focusing on his work.
-
She felt the incubus of self-doubt creeping in whenever she prepared for her presentations.
Synonyms
570
3.5
A very unpleasant situation that causes a lot of worry and trouble
Antonyms
How Distressing
Surface Forms
Etymology
Incubus comes from the Latin incubare, made of in- 'on' and cubare 'to lie'. Imagine a heavy weight 'lying on' your chest, and you get the image of a worry or problem that sits on you and causes great distress.