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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bête noire
Noun
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Great productions of Sondheim musicals, and this is one of those, always fill you with a certain existential dread.
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Dong recalled that dread ran deep because his tiny boat might capsize if the winds and waves picked up.
Noun
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His death in an enemy attack plays into a powerful Shi'ite tradition of martyrdom and mourning, in which processions of flagellants beat their chests or backs.
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The day for battle is near, many of our enemies are arming themselves.
Noun
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The book beautifully captures the delicate line between love and hate, between victimhood and complicity.
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Unfortunately, this can lead to some individuals lashing out in response to their own insecurities, hate and low bar of aptitude, which is confirmed by the tenor of the attacks.
Noun
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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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And to add insult to social and cultural injury, the new policies also present a logistical nuisance.
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In New York, night clubs were sometimes regarded as a civic nuisance; one obstacle was the city’s cabaret law, from 1926, which required bars to obtain a special permit if patrons were dancing and was not fully repealed until 2017.
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 4 Jul. 2026.
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