nightmarelike
Like a bad dream
Nightmarelike describes something resembling or evoking a nightmare—disturbing, surreal, or filled with dread.
The word applies to experiences, images, or atmospheres that share the disorienting, frightening quality of bad dreams: The evacuation took on a nightmarelike quality as sirens wailed and smoke filled the streets.
Imagined realm during sleep
- hallucinatorySeeming falsely perceived
- phantasmagoricBizarrely dreamlike and shifting
- kafkaesqueNightmarishly illogical and bureaucratic
- bizarreStrikingly unconventional
uncanny · distorted · warped · disorienting · otherworldly · ethereal · chimerical · fevered
Extremely shocking and dreadful
- terrifyingEvoking extreme fear
- harrowingExtremely distressing or disturbing
- ghastlyTerrifyingly horrible or pale
- dreadfulCausing great fear or suffering
frightening · gruesome · appalling · monstrous · hideous · grotesque · abominable · shocking
Intense anticipatory fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- frightSudden intense fear
- trepidationFearful uncertainty
anxiety · unease · distress · suffocating · trapped · paralyzed · helpless · inescapable
Resembling a specter
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
- phantasmalLike an apparition
- apparitionalResembling a specter
- eerieDisturbingly strange
spooky · supernatural · paranormal · wraithlike · haunted · possessed · poltergeist · shadowy
dreamscape
Imagined realm during sleep
- hallucinatorySeeming falsely perceived
- phantasmagoricBizarrely dreamlike and shifting
- kafkaesqueNightmarishly illogical and bureaucratic
bizarre · uncanny · distorted · warped · disorienting · otherworldly · ethereal · chimerical · fevered · delirious
horrific
Extremely shocking and dreadful
- terrifyingEvoking extreme fear
- harrowingExtremely distressing or disturbing
- ghastlyTerrifyingly horrible or pale
dreadful · frightening · gruesome · appalling · monstrous · hideous · grotesque · abominable · shocking · alarming
dread
Intense anticipatory fear
trepidation · anxiety · unease · distress · suffocating · trapped · paralyzed · helpless · inescapable · relentless
ghostly
Resembling a specter
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
- phantasmalLike an apparition
- apparitionalResembling a specter
eerie · spooky · supernatural · paranormal · wraithlike · haunted · possessed · poltergeist · shadowy · creeping
nightmarelikeenchanting
Delightfully attractive, spellbinding
halcyon · wish-fulfilling · dreamlike · storybook · magical