nightmarish
/ˈnaɪtmeərɪʃ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈnaɪtmerɪʃ/ (ame, ipa) · /-ma(a)rish -mer-, -rēsh/ (ame, mw)
nightmarish — adjective
- nightmarishpositive
- more nightmarishcomparative
- most nightmarishsuperlative
1. used to describe an experience, event, or situation that causes so much fear, wo
used to describe an experience, event, or situation that causes so much fear, worry, or unhappiness that it feels like a bad dream rather than real life.
The traffic jam on the highway was nightmarish — Yusuf took four hours to drive home.
collocation: nightmarish traffic / nightmarish journey
Aiko described her job interview as a nightmarish experience where nothing went right.
collocation: nightmarish experience
The paperwork for the visa application was so nightmarish that Ravi almost gave up.
Survivors of the earthquake shared nightmarish stories of collapsing buildings and lost family members.
What made the situation truly nightmarish was having no phone signal to call for help.
- terrifying
focuses more on immediate fear and danger; less on the surreal, dreamlike quality
- horrifying
adds a sense of shock or moral disgust beyond mere fear
- dreadful
milder and more old-fashioned; describes anything very bad, not necessarily dreamlike
- hellish
much stronger and more informal; compares the experience to hell, can be offensive
文法句型
it + be + nightmarish + that-clause
nightmarish + noun
用法筆記
Commonly describes situations, experiences, journeys, or conditions. Not usually used directly for people — say 'terrifying' or 'frightening' instead of 'nightmarish' when describing a person.