bête noire

noun

ˌbet-ˈnwär How to pronounce bête noire (audio)
Definition of bête noirenext
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 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 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
  1. dread
  2. enemy
  3. hate
  4. abhorrence
  5. antipathy
  6. nuisance
  7. abomination
  8. anathema
Noun
  • Sort the genuine threats from the merely unpleasant ones, and a surprising amount of everyday dread will dissipate.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 10 Aug. 2026
  • There is dread and sadness and also anger, not only on behalf of the usual alibi for caring about famous women’s bodies, those masses of impressionable teen-age girls, but on behalf of past and present selves.
    — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of dread
Noun
  • The two started off as enemies as Judy joined the Zootopia Police Department, but then put aside their differences to solve a mystery in the animal city.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Inspired by true events, her feature film debut tells the dark story of a small northeastern German village at the end of WWII, when the Nazi regime gave its citizens the order to leave nothing alive for the enemy to find.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of enemy
Noun
  • The meeting was already scheduled to discuss pertinent issues facing the league — among them, the online hate and vitriol directed toward players and other WNBA personnel.
    — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Dearborn's Muslim residents say the people outside of their community sharing hate have it all wrong.
    — Heath Kalb, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of hate
Noun
  • But your abhorrence of the outcomes of particular elections doesn’t justify your saying, Well, the hell with that.
    — Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
  • 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.
    — Michael Bloomberg, Twin Cities, 24 Sep. 2025
Definition of abhorrence
Noun
  • The other is that Republicans’ antipathy towards vote-by-mail is waning.
    — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 1 June 2026
  • 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.
    — Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 20 May 2026
Definition of antipathy
Noun
  • The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued at least 20 violation notices to Lineage for public nuisance.
    — Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
  • On Thursday, a judge found Meta had created a public nuisance and ordered it to pay an additional $567 million and implement youth-safety measures.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of nuisance
Noun
  • And that was before the abomination — three-parts Netflix advertising event and one-part baseball game — even happened.
    — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 13 July 2026
  • 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.
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 13 June 2026
Definition of abomination
Noun
  • His alliance with the far-right of American politics is anathema to the over 70% of Jewish Americans who vote Democratic.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Similarly, big money hasn’t been anathema to either the governing body or the tournament, with FIFA’s president, Joao Havelange, partnering in 1974 with Horst Dassler, the chief executive of Adidas, to transform the organisation commercially.
    — Simon Chadwick, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of anathema

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bet
bête noire
bêtes noires
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Cite this Entry

“Bête noire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/b%C3%AAte%20noire. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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