How to Use nightmare in a Sentence

nightmare

noun
  • The party was a complete nightmare.
  • Mommy, I had a really scary nightmare.
  • Then one day, the nightmare of Auschwitz came to an end.
    — Danuta Hamlin, Fox News, 25 Jan. 2025
  • The dusty Ohtani trudged to the dugout as if marching through a nightmare.
    — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2024
  • The Shermans’ children say the years since the killings have been a nightmare.
    — Faith Karimi, CNN, 17 Dec. 2022
  • And the look of the film, a kind of Day-Glo nightmare, is insanely cool.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 1 July 2024
  • Just out of the gate, golden king crabs are a nightmare.
    — Jessica Wang, EW.com, 20 Apr. 2022
  • In turn, such bad buzz became a PR nightmare for the movie.
    — Vulture, 26 Apr. 2023
  • Words can’t describe the painful nightmare of this last year.
    — Notan Eva Costa, New York Daily News, 27 Mar. 2025
  • The 2016 leaks were not just a PR nightmare for the Clinton campaign.
    — Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Aug. 2024
  • That debate, of course, was a nightmare for Biden – who pulled out of the race at the end of July.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2024
  • The movie plays off a perfect nightmare for many who have sailed, said Ruz.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Plus, out-of-square corners and bulging, wavy walls can be a nightmare for a novice.
    — Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, 22 Nov. 2022
  • The whole chase scene at the end, with all the water effects, would have been a nightmare 20 years ago.
    — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Oct. 2024
  • With a large group of seniors and a new coach in 2023, Tigard could be a nightmare to match up against.
    — Shane Hoffmann | , oregonlive, 25 Aug. 2023
  • The first few minutes of a telephone call are a nightmare.
    — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2022
  • The boundaries between the two countries were a nightmare from the get-go.
    — David Faris, The Week, 15 Sep. 2022
  • The hours that followed were something out of a nightmare.
    — Sasha Hupka, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2025
  • That whine would be a constant throughout the day, and still haunts my nightmares.
    — Sarah D. Wire, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024
  • His next stop, at Reading on a short-term deal, was a nightmare.
    — Oliver Kay, The Athletic, 8 Feb. 2025
  • What felt at the time like a nightmare is now the cause of a great deal of introspection.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 18 Feb. 2025
  • Already, their trip to the desert had turned into a nightmare.
    — Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Dec. 2022
  • And to be in this iconic closet is a nightmare come true.
    — Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 3 Nov. 2024
  • In the script, at some point, there was a dream sequence where a dance turned into a nightmare.
    — Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Sep. 2024
  • His father had been killed in the First World War; his mother was a nightmare.
    — James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2024
  • If that’s the case and you’re really forced to run this nightmare back one more year, do not — do not!
    — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2023
  • Still, focusing on a goal would get me through the nightmare.
    — Brittney Griner, TIME, 3 May 2024
  • This is shaping up to be a nightmare of a weekend for the Boston Red Sox.
    — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2025
  • Package delivery and unpaid toll texts have taken most of the headlines, but an even worse threat is proving a nightmare for phone users.
    — Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
  • And a deadly curse that turns their reality into a waking nightmare.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 17 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nightmare.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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