Damocles

[ dam-uh-kleez ]

/ ˈdæm əˌkliz /

noun

a flatterer who, having extolled the happiness of Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, was seated at a banquet with a sword suspended over his head by a single hair to show him the perilous nature of that happiness.

Idioms for Damocles

sword of Damocles, any situation threatening imminent harm or disaster.

OTHER WORDS FROM Damocles

Dam·o·cle·an

[dam-uh-klee-uh n] /ˌdæm əˈkli ən/, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for damocles

Then as now, the majority of Americans had little interest in examining the nuclear sword of Damocles their fear had wrought.

How a War-Weary Vet Created ‘The Twilight Zone’ |Rich Goldstein |November 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Of course, if we can mix our classical references, Russia has its Sword of Damocles to cut this Gordian Knot.

Ravenous Russia? Thirsty Crimea. |Oleg Shynkarenko, Will Cathcart |May 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Did he understand that he would now have to live with a sword—not of Damocles but of polonium—hanging over his head?

The Mystery of Mikhail Khodorkovsky |Bernard-Henri Lévy |January 2, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The United States insists that the option of force—a sword of Damocles—be included in any Security Council resolution.

Did Obama Just Change His Luck on Syria? |Michael Tomasky |September 11, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

But that particular sword of Damocles has floated off into the ether.

Obama’s Social Security Gambit |Michael Tomasky |April 9, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
It was a slender needle with light glinting on its tail—the Sword of Damocles hanging above their heads.

First on the Moon |Jeff Sutton
While this sword of Damocles was suspended over his head he was bound in honour to be silent.

A Gamble with Life |Silas K. Hocking
Like the sword of Damocles is the charity demon, hanging over its victims.

Crimes of Charity |Konrad Bercovici
And so, the next day, Damocles was led into the palace, and all the servants were bidden to treat him as their master.

Fifty Famous Stories Retold |James Baldwin
Finally the sword of Damocles had fallen, and almost one-sixth of beautiful France had been laid waste.

Harper's Pictorial Library of the World War, Volume XII |Various

British Dictionary definitions for damocles

Damocles

/ (ˈdæməˌkliːz) /

noun

classical myth a sycophant forced by Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, to sit under a sword suspended by a hair to demonstrate that being a king was not the happy state Damocles had said it was See also Sword of Damocles

Derived forms of Damocles

Damoclean, adjective

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

Damocles

noun

Idioms for Damocles

OTHER WORDS FROM Damocles

Example sentences from the Web for damocles

British Dictionary definitions for damocles

noun

Derived forms of Damocles