Incubus
//ˈɪŋ.kjʊ.bəs// noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An evil spirit supposed to oppress people while asleep, especially to have sex with women as they sleep.
- 2 a male demon believed to lie on sleeping persons and to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women wordnet
- 3 A feeling of oppression during sleep, sleep paralysis; night terrors, a nightmare.
"it increaseth fearful dreams, incubus, night-walking, crying out, and much unquietness […] ."
- 4 someone who depresses or worries others wordnet
- 5 Any oppressive thing or person; a burden. broadly
"Again he felt the impulse of flight: but his body was a dry dead incubus that refused to obey his volition."
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- 6 a situation resembling a terrifying dream wordnet
- 7 One of various of parasitic insects, especially subfamily Aphidiinae.
Example
More examples"it increaseth fearful dreams, incubus, night-walking, crying out, and much unquietness […] ."
Etymology
From Late Latin incubus, from Latin incubō (“nightmare, one who lies down on the sleeper”), from incubō (“to lie upon, to hatch”, from in- (“on”) + cubō (“to lie down”)).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.