Lycanthropy

//laɪˈkanθɹəpi// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The state of being a lycanthrope (or werewolf), a person who can shapeshift between the form of a human being and a wolf, often said to happen involuntarily during a full moon; werewolfdom. uncountable, usually
  2. 2
    (folklore) the magical ability of a person to assume the characteristics of a wolf wordnet
  3. 3
    The state of being a person who can shapeshift between the form of a human being and an animal, whether or not it is a wolf. broadly, uncountable, usually

    "On one hand, Jacques is quite glad that he doesn’t have classic lycanthropy. Turning into a squirrel tends to cause fewer problems than turning into a wolf."

  4. 4
    A delusion in which one believes oneself to be a wolf or other wild animal. uncountable, usually

Synonyms

All synonyms
werewolfdomwerewolfism

Example

More examples

"On one hand, Jacques is quite glad that he doesn’t have classic lycanthropy. Turning into a squirrel tends to cause fewer problems than turning into a wolf."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek λυκανθρωπία (lukanthrōpía), from λυκάνθρωπος (lukánthrōpos, “wolfman”). By surface analysis, lycanthrope + -y.

Related phrases

full moon

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.