boogeyman

noun

boo·​gey·​man ˈbu̇-gē-ˌman How to pronounce boogeyman (audio)
ˈbü-
variants or less commonly boogerman

Examples of boogeyman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The district’s been the boogeyman in the first two seasons. Brande Victorian, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2024 People from all walks of life — food writers, chefs and maybe your mom — warn of freezer burn, the boogeyman lurking in our kitchens waiting to take hold of our precious frozen foods. Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2024 McGuire goes back to the same well several times – glimpses of apparitions at the pool’s edge, dark, blood-like sludge surging from beneath, ghoulish boogeymen (and boogeywomen) popping into the frame. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2024 There is, perhaps, no greater boogeyman in personal finance media than the daily cup of takeaway coffee, shorthand for a certain type of financial frivolousness, an easy explanation for why some—particularly young adults—struggle to buy homes or get out of debt. Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2023 Her aspirational Green New Deal became a boogeyman for conservatives but helped to shape much of Biden’s ambitious Covid-19 relief efforts that doubled as the biggest environmental agenda in history. TIME, 16 Feb. 2024 For years, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has loomed over Europe like a continental boogeyman. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2024 Sinema, in particular, was turned into a boogeyman among Democrats for her refusal to defend her position publicly as frequently as Manchin, who maintains a rigorous press schedule. Emily Jacobs, Washington Examiner, 25 Dec. 2023 The GOP has spent the past few years working to transform critical race theory, or CRT, into a political boogeyman. Tori Otten, The New Republic, 17 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'boogeyman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

by alteration

First Known Use

circa 1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of boogeyman was circa 1850

Dictionary Entries Near boogeyman

Cite this Entry

“Boogeyman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boogeyman. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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