Thesaurus
Synonyms & Antonyms of bête noire
1
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 for bête noire
Words Related to bête noire
2
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 for bête noire
Words Related to bête noire
Near Antonyms for bête noire
Antonyms for bête noire
Keep scrolling for more
Test Your Vocabulary
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
- What is an earlier meaning of nice?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Anagram puzzles meet word search.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
Do you know these earlier meanings of words?
Take the quizWords of Snow and Ice Quiz
A selection of words from the chillier parts of t...
Take the quizSpell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quizSCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!
Play the game
Share bête noire
Time Traveler for bête noire
The first known use of bête noire was in 1805
See more words from the same year