night ‧ mare /ˈnaɪtmeə $ -mer/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: night + mare 'evil spirit' (11-18 centuries) (from Old English ) ]
1 . a very frightening dream
nightmare about
Years after the accident I still have nightmares about it.
a recurring nightmare (=one which you have again and again)
2 . [usually singular] a very difficult, unpleasant, or frightening experience or situation:
Traffic was a nightmare.
nightmare for
This has been an absolute nightmare for me and my family.
nightmare of (doing) something
the nightmare of going through divorce
It was every teacher’s worst nightmare (=the worst thing which could have happened) .
a nightmare journey
3 . something terrible that you fear may happen in the future
nightmare of
the nightmare of a nuclear war
nightmare scenario (=the worst or most frightening situation that you can imagine)
—nightmarish adjective
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ adjectives
▪ an absolute/complete nightmare
The whole day was an absolute nightmare.
▪ a real nightmare
The situation with our neighbours is a real nightmare!
▪ the ultimate nightmare (=the worst possible situation)
The ultimate nightmare for any parent is to suffer the loss of a child.
▪ somebody's worst nightmare (=the worst possible situation)
The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was farming's worst nightmare.
▪ a long nightmare
How can we bring an end to the long nightmare in the Middle East?
▪ a living/waking nightmare (=something extremely bad that happens in your life)
Being told I had cancer was a waking nightmare.
▪ a logistical nightmare (=something that is very complicated and difficult to organize)
Arranging childcare during the summer can be a logistical nightmare.
▪ an administrative/bureaucratic nightmare (=something that is very complicated and difficult to keep accurate records of)
Dealing with so many new applications for asylum is an administrative nightmare.
▪ a personal/private nightmare (=a very bad situation that affects only one person)
His personal nightmare began when he was arrested for murder.
■ verbs
▪ be a nightmare
The whole holiday was a nightmare.
▪ become/turn into a nightmare
Their honeymoon turned into a nightmare when they were involved in a car accident.
▪ a nightmare begins
The nightmare began when her mother fell ill.
▪ a nightmare ends
We just want this nightmare to end!
▪ end a nightmare
He longed for something to end the nightmare.
▪ a nightmare comes true (=something bad that someone fears actually happens)
The company's worst financial nightmare has now come true.
■ nightmare + NOUN
▪ the nightmare scenario (=the worst possible situation)
Emergency planners are trying to prepare for this nightmare scenario.
▪ a nightmare vision (=a very bad situation that might happen)
The book gives us a nightmare vision of a family destroyed by one man's secrets.
▪ a nightmare world (=a situation in which everything is bad and there is nothing good)
It's hard to understand how people survived the nightmare world of the concentration camps.
▪ a nightmare journey/trip (=an extremely unpleasant journey)
Commuters are facing a nightmare journey to work due to the tube drivers strike.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ when you are sleeping
▪ dream the thoughts, images, and feelings that go through your mind while you are asleep:
I had a strange dream last night -- you and I were in some sort of forest.
▪ nightmare a very unpleasant and frightening dream:
She still has terrible nightmares about the accident.
▪ daydream a series of pleasant thoughts that go through your mind when you are awake, so that you do not notice what is happening around you:
Neil was in a daydream, and didn’t hear the teacher call his name.
▪ reverie formal a state of imagining or thinking about pleasant things, that is like dreaming:
The doorbell rang, shaking her from her reverie.