Hagride

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To trouble or distress someone continuously with worry, fear, or relentless pestering
2. To afflict with persistent anxiety or harassment, as if driven by an evil force
3. To torment someone repeatedly through nagging, dread, or unrelenting badgering

Etymology: "Hagride" is a compound of "hag" and "ride," and its meaning follows from the older folk belief behind those two parts. A hag was a malevolent female spirit or witch, and to ride someone in this sense was to torment them while they slept, as if a demon were sitting on their chest. The combined verb thus named a nightmare-like oppression, the sense of being weighed down and trampled in dreams. The "ride" half is the older and more familiar element, while "hag" carries the darker associations of an old woman with supernatural powers. Put together, the compound turns an ordinary verb of riding into something a sleeper suffers rather than enjoys.

Synonyms: oppress, torment, nightmare