NIGHTMARISH Synonyms: 81 Similar and Opposite Words

nightmarish

adjective

Definition of nightmarish

as in gruesome

extremely disturbing or repellent a photographic exhibit of nightmarish images from the wars of the 20th century

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of nightmarish The nightmarish death prompted Six Flags to temporarily close nine similar coasters across North America. — Kate Brumback, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026 The novel’s alternate realities are split like a nightmarish LP — the party in Silver Lake pops off on the A-side where, soon, most territories will be contested, and militias and gunfire will become ubiquitous. — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 What begins with the promise of something genuinely nightmarish gradually deteriorates into a disappointingly conventional, occasionally laughable supernatural exercise. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026 Rodgers bounced back from a nightmarish performance in a dismal loss to New England by throwing for 292 yards and three touchdowns to outduel Joe Burrow as the Steelers pulled out a 30-27 thriller. — ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026 So far, the sequel is off to a nightmarish start, and neither Ballard nor Steichen should feel safe after being at the helm of such an embarrassing showing. — James Boyd, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 As Pattinson spends a long night trying to rescue his brother, the Safdies weave a nightmarish, impressionistic vision of New York that ranks among the most unsettling cinematic depictions of the city. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026 There's little parking at the Coliseum, meaning fans are forced into a nightmarish hellscape of distant structures, and the security lines are infamously awful at an old stadium. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026 The idea sounded at once mystical, therapeutic, and nightmarish. — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nightmarish

Adjective

Among protesters, particularly gruesome wounds suffered by some teenagers have been blamed on police riot-control weapons.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Mars Attacks, released in 1962, was a huge hit with kids, though many parents objected to the gruesome artwork of Martians eviscerating Earthlings.

— Bob Woods, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of gruesome

Adjective

There’s a slickness to the carnage that rubs uncomfortably against the film’s humanist ethos, rendering artificial (for all Shen Teng’s trembling and mouth-contorting labors) the horrific tragedies that befall its characters.

— Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
What happened to you was horrific, and there is nothing that any of us can say today that will make this any easier.

— Eric Mack, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of horrific

Adjective

This is the nightmare scenario behind the Kessler syndrome, a cascading chain of collisions that could render entire orbital pathways unusable.

— Alan Bradley, Space.com, 2 Aug. 2026
But the 22-year-old is not alone in having a nightmare individual performance on a high-profile sporting stage.

— Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026

Definition of nightmare

Adjective

The series is notorious for its shocking plot twists (many of which bring dramatic, fatal ends to important characters).

— Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 15 Oct. 2026
Bajaria is said to have attended the town hall that Head of Scripted, UCAN Jinny Howe held Wednesday afternoon amid the layoffs, making her exit today feel abrupt and shocking to staffers.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of shocking

Adjective

There’s a big data center that just came to my community not long ago and their community engagement was horrible, absolutely horrible.

— Dustin DeSoto, Vox, 16 Oct. 2026
After the third day of squirting an experimental drug up his nose, Dylan Meetze felt horrible.

— Amy Maxmen, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of horrible

Adjective

The second storyline takes place in 2026 and concerns the murder of none other than Hal Jordan, who returned to Rushville as a social pariah after the terrible events that transpired 10 years before.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
The Eagles are struggling, the Cowboys look terrible, and the Giants don’t have a quarterback.

— OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of terrible

Adjective

There is nothing more frightening than when the familiar starts acting strange, in movies or in life.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
And with Halloween nearly upon us, the question of what frightening, shocking, silly, classic, or demonically camp movies to press play on again (and again) has never been more pertinent.

— Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of frightening

Adjective

These horrifying yet beguiling events might just hold some secrets to understanding the universe.

— Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Last May, Backrooms — about a horrifying liminal space that exists beyond our own reality — smashed box office records.

— Ayesha Rascoe, NPR, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of horrifying

Browse Nearby Words

nightmares

nightmarish

night owl

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“Nightmarish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nightmarish. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of nightmarish

adjective

Example Sentences

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