de·mo·ni·ac

(dĭ-mō′nē-ăk′) also de·mo·ni·a·cal (dē′mə-nī′ə-kəl)

adj.

1. Possessed, produced, or influenced by a demon: demoniac creatures.

2. Of, resembling, or suggestive of a devil; fiendish: demoniac energy; a demoniacal fit.

One who is or seems to be possessed by a demon.

[Middle English demoniak, from Late Latin daemoniacus, from Greek *daimoniakos, from daimonios, of a spirit, from daimōn, divine power; see demon.]

de′mo·ni′a·cal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

demoniac

(dɪˈməʊnɪˌæk)

adj

1. of, like, or suggestive of a demon; demonic

2. suggesting inner possession or inspiration: the demoniac fire of genius.

3. frantic; frenzied; feverish: demoniac activity.

(Theology) a person possessed by an evil spirit or demon

ˌdemoˈniacally adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

de•mo•ni•ac

(dɪˈmoʊ niˌæk, ˌdi məˈnaɪ æk)

adj. Also, de•mo•ni•a•cal (ˌdi məˈnaɪ ə kəl)

1. of, pertaining to, or like a demon; demonic.

2. possessed by or as if by an evil spirit; raging; frantic.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin daemoniacus < Greek daimoniakós]

de`mo•ni′a•cal•ly, adv.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	demoniac - someone who acts as if possessed by a demon fiend, ogre, demon, monster, devil - a cruel wicked and inhuman person
Adj.	1.	demoniac - frenzied as if possessed by a demon; "the soldier was completely amuck"; "berserk with grief"; "a berserk worker smashing windows" amok, amuck, berserk, demoniacal, possessed insane - afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement; "was declared insane"; "insane laughter"

Translations

dämonisch

demoniac

[dɪˈməʊnɪæk]

A. ADJ = demoniacal

B. N → demoníaco/a m/f, demoniaco/a m/f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

demoniac

adj → dämonisch

n → Besessene(r) mf

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

demoniac

[dɪˈməʊnɪæk] demoniacal [ˌdiːməʊˈnaɪək/əl] adj → demoniaco/a, diabolico/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

They think me mad --Starbuck does; but I'm demoniac, I am madness maddened!

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That pale, loving mother,--her dying prayers, her forgiving love,--wrought in that demoniac heart of sin only as a damning sentence, bringing with it a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.

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With such strange compelling qualities, is it any wonder that there is abroad an idea that in the race there is some demoniac possession, which tends to a more definite belief that certain individuals have in the past sold themselves to the Devil?

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She hath a demoniac goat with horns of the devil, which reads, which writes, which knows mathematics like Picatrix, and which would suffice to hang all Bohemia.

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Ha, ha, ha!" and a frightful, demoniac laugh finished the sentence, which was lost in a hoarse rattle.

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Rolling over and over upon the turf the two battled with demoniac fury, until the colossal cat, by doubling his hind paws far up beneath his belly sank his talons deep into Taglat's chest, then, ripping downward with all his strength, Numa accomplished his design, and the disemboweled anthropoid, with a last spasmodic struggle, relaxed in limp and bloody dissolution beneath his titanic adversary.

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This was a demoniac laugh--low, suppressed, and deep--uttered, as it seemed, at the very keyhole of my chamber door.

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When the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demoniac fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat.

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Thus sped the demoniac on his course, until, quivering among the trees, he saw a red light before him, as when the felled trunks and branches of a clearing have been set on fire, and throw up their lurid blaze against the sky, at the hour of midnight.

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He, all unarmed, Shall chase thee, with the terror of his voice, From thy demoniac holds, possession foul-- Thee and thy legions; yelling they shall fly, And beg to hide them in a herd of swine, Lest he command them down into the Deep, Bound, and to torment sent before their time.

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Alleyne thought of what he had read of demoniac possession--the jumpings, the twitchings, the wild talk.

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His usual note was this demoniac laughter, yet somewhat like that of a water-fowl; but occasionally, when he had balked me most successfully and come up a long way off, he uttered a long-drawn unearthly howl, probably more like that of a wolf than any bird; as when a beast puts his muzzle to the ground and deliberately howls.

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