Word.ws English Dictionary

oni

/ˈəʊni/US/ˈoʊni/

oni noun: a Japanese evil spirit or demon.

Noun

oni (plural onis or oni)

  1. A Japanese evil spirit or demon.
    • ONI 鬼. Generic name for devils, the representation of which in art is quite a common feature. Onis have claws, a square head with two horns, sharp teeth, and malignant eyes surmounted by big eyebrows; occasionally they wear trousers of tiger skin.1908, Henri L. Joly, Legend in Japanese Art: A Description of Historical Episodes, Legendary Characters, Folk-lore, Myths, Religious Symbolism, Illustrated in the Arts of Old Japan, pages 263–264
    • Across the ocean, in Japan, there once lived curious creatures called Onis. Every Japanese boy and girl has heard of them, though one has not often been caught.1918, William Elliot Griffis, Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks

Proper noun capitalized: ONI

ONI

  1. (US, abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of Office of Naval Intelligence.

Examples of oni in a sentence

  • "It can only be an oni or some such being."1979, Marian Ury, Tales of Times Now Past: Sixty-Two Stories from a Medieval Japanese Collection, University of California Press, →ISBN...
  • The standing Shoki holds with his left hand an oni on his leg.1992, Karl M. Schwarz, Netsuke Subjects: A Study on the Netsuke Themes with Reference to Their Interpretation and Symbolism, Böhlau Verlag...
  • Onis have supernatural powers that can command the forces of nature such as wind (to create hurricanes) and lightning (to create thunderbolts).2005, Christopher Hart, Manga Mania Shoujo: How to Draw the Charming and Romantic Characters of Japanese Comics, →ISBN, page 69:
  • The oni are a diverse group of evil spirits who take on the form of humanoid creatures so that they can enjoy the pleasures and vices of the flesh.2011, Mike Shel, “Ecology of the Oni”, in Jade Regent: The Brinewall Legacy, Paizo Publishing, →ISBN, page 69:

Forms of oni

pluralonis
pluraloni

Origin of oni

From Japanese 鬼 (oni).

Words that rhyme with oni

38 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about oni

What does oni mean?
Oni means a Japanese evil spirit or demon.
How do you use oni in a sentence?
"It can only be an oni or some such being."
What part of speech is oni?
Oni can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce oni?
Oni is pronounced /ˈəʊni/ (UK).
What is the plural of oni?
The plural of oni is onis.

Words near oni in the dictionary

  1. onhangers
  2. onheld
  3. onhold
  4. onholding
  5. onholds
  6. oni
  7. onia
  8. onibi
  9. Onibury
  10. Oniceni
  11. Onich

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: oni (page history and authors); ONI (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-oni.wav.

Cite this entry: “oni.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/oni. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.