Vampirish

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈvampʌɪɹɪʃ/

Definitions

1. Relating to traits often associated with a predatory being that lures and exploits others for sustenance or advantage
2. Referring to characteristics reminiscent of a night-dwelling creature that ensnares and feeds on the life force of others
3. Having qualities that echo a predator which seduces and draws energy from others ; suggesting features of a night-active entity that exploits vitality

Etymology: The adjective is a plain English formation: "vampire" with the suffix "-ish", meaning "having the qualities of" or "somewhat like." The suffix has a long pedigree of its own, descending from a Proto-Germanic ancestor and reaching Old English as a form that eventually became the modern "-ish" used with countless nouns and adjectives, from "childish" to "greenish." The noun it grows from has a more dramatic route. "Vampire" passed into European languages from Slavic sources, where a word related to the Serbo-Croatian "vampir" named the restless dead said to rise at night and drain the living. The noun reached English through German and French, and its vampiric sense became established in English well after the Slavic roots had been left behind, which is why the adjective carries that sense of nocturnal, life-draining predation.