energumen means A person possessed by an evil ghost, spirit, or entity. It carries an Arena rating of 1537, earned across 160 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, energumen ranks #362 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,317 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #1,810 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,337 of 17,151 for The Improbable.
energumen is pronounced /ɛn.əˈɡjuː.mən/.
Why “energumen” is a great word
ENERGUMEN — [Noun] A person possessed by an evil spirit, or one exhibiting a similarly frantic or hysterical state. From Late Latin energumenus, from Ancient Greek ἐνεργούμενος (energoúmenos, "one acted upon or possessed"), passive participle of ἐνεργέω (energéō, "to work in, influence, be active"). Unlike "fanatic," whose frenzy springs from an internal zeal, or "lunatic," a broad historical term for insanity, an energumen is specifically a vessel animated by an external, malevolent force. It is the body contorted as if pulled by invisible wires, the voice that is not one’s own rasping from a ruined throat, and the familiar face twisted into a mask of alien fury—the terrifying spectacle of a self not lost, but violently usurped.
Etymology
From Latin energumenus, from Ancient Greek ἐνεργούμενος (energoúmenos), from verb ἐνεργέω (energéō, “to influence”).
noun
- A person possessed by an evil ghost, spirit, or entity.
- A frantic and hysterical person.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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