1
as in dread
something or someone that causes fear or dread especially without reason
doing my own tax return is the bête noire that haunts me every April
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in enemy
something or someone that is hated
in that organization's view, society's number one bête noire should be the drunk driver of a motor vehicle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bête noire
There’s plenty of satisfying comic justice to come when Salieri is left alone to his own devices — and to spend a lot of climactic alone time with the audience — long after his bete noire is gone.
—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
David Warner, like his bete noire Broad, was involved in 2023 but has retired since.
—
Darren Richman,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2025
The illiberal Hungarian prime minister is the bete noire of the European Union, a beloved hero to a major segment of the U.S. right and most vocal statesman among nationalists in the West.
—
Ishaan Tharoor,
Washington Post,
8 Mar. 2024
Others also pointed to a 2010 Bon Jovi gig in Tokyo that featured images of the Dalai Lama – Beijing’s bete noire – on the stage background.
—
Heather Chen,
CNN,
10 Feb. 2024
Wilt Chamberlain, Russell’s friend and lifelong bete noire, tried to slow down the game by taking Russell one-on-one in half-court sets that put the massive, absurdly gifted Wilt square in the post.
—
Corbin Smith,
Rolling Stone,
8 Feb. 2023
The food stylist's bete noire turned out to be foam.
—
Clark Collis,
EW.com,
3 Oct. 2022
To some Republican participants in the hearing, the whole thing seemed like an opportunity to take easy shots at outlets like Fox News, long a bete noire of the liberal and Democratic establishment.
—
Andy Meek,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2021
Final approval rests with Italian President Sergio Mattarella—a respected figure in Italy’s establishment and another bete noire of the League and 5 Star Movement.
—
WSJ,
11 Feb. 2019
Chris Willman,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
David Warner, like his bete noire Broad, was involved in 2023 but has retired since.
—
Darren Richman,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2025
The illiberal Hungarian prime minister is the bete noire of the European Union, a beloved hero to a major segment of the U.S. right and most vocal statesman among nationalists in the West.
—
Ishaan Tharoor,
Washington Post,
8 Mar. 2024
Others also pointed to a 2010 Bon Jovi gig in Tokyo that featured images of the Dalai Lama – Beijing’s bete noire – on the stage background.
—
Heather Chen,
CNN,
10 Feb. 2024
Wilt Chamberlain, Russell’s friend and lifelong bete noire, tried to slow down the game by taking Russell one-on-one in half-court sets that put the massive, absurdly gifted Wilt square in the post.
—
Corbin Smith,
Rolling Stone,
8 Feb. 2023
The food stylist's bete noire turned out to be foam.
—
Clark Collis,
EW.com,
3 Oct. 2022
To some Republican participants in the hearing, the whole thing seemed like an opportunity to take easy shots at outlets like Fox News, long a bete noire of the liberal and Democratic establishment.
—
Andy Meek,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2021
Final approval rests with Italian President Sergio Mattarella—a respected figure in Italy’s establishment and another bete noire of the League and 5 Star Movement.
—
WSJ,
11 Feb. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bête noire
Noun
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Only rush-hour traffic and $20 tacos inspire the same level of dread.
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The long and painful rehab would have interfered with his writing; the dread of leaving behind an incomplete manuscript outweighed the benefit of a few extra months.
Noun
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Corlys and Lohar find each other in the scrum and both land powerful blows before Corlys is thrown into the sea, leaving Alyn of Hull to finish off his father’s enemy.
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After hours of fighting in the close urban setting, Dockery used smoke grenades to signal enemy positions for American gunships.
Noun
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The needs are simple infrastructure with measures to protect worshippers, students, staff and visitors, and a long commitment to study and erase anti-Muslim hate.
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Democrats work ceaselessly to whip the American people into a frenzy of hate and conflict.
Noun
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These findings echo a broader pattern political scientists call affective polarization: the replacement of disagreement with abhorrence.
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When human decency and basic civility fall victim to partisanship and ideology, and abhorrence of violence becomes tempered by political aims, monstrosities and tyrannies become possible.
Noun
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The other is that Republicans’ antipathy towards vote-by-mail is waning.
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Alexander Kazakov | Afp | Getty Images That Russia and China are seen as ideologically aligned on many geopolitical issues, with each sharing a traditional antipathy and distrust towards the West, and Washington.
Noun
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Someone decides what counts as cultivation and what counts as nuisance, what gets watered and what gets pulled, what belongs in the planned bed and what must be removed before visitors arrive.
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Many people view heat as an annual summer nuisance but have no reference for differentiating dangerous extreme events.
Noun
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Qatar 2022 was an abomination in so many ways, a World Cup staged in a nation roughly the size of Connecticut, with an appalling human rights record, but the football was frequently thrilling.
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Yes, the first season of Big Brother was an abomination.
Noun
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That is anathema to many of the visiting fans – and, to be very clear, the overwhelming majority of the American soccer fans who are in attendance as well.
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Still, by the 1830s, Elizabeth Freeman’s challenge to slavery as an anathema to liberty was a potent idea.
Cite this Entry
“Bête noire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/b%C3%AAte%20noire. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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