bête noire

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bête noire
Noun
  • Walt Disney Imagineering updated the storyline of Black Widow Bride Constance Hatchway earlier this year by turning her from an axe murderer who beheads her wealthy husbands into a more mournful figure overwhelmed by the dread of lost love.
    Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
  • The idea of having to double-cleanse fills me with dread.
    Mattie Kahn, Vogue, 13 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • This small interceptor drone is specifically designed to ram into enemy drones mid-air.
    Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 12 Oct. 2025
  • The final season will explore Shaka’s enemies trying to undermine his rule and the arrival of Francis Fynn and British colonizers.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Directed by Sylvain White and featuring early performances from Meagan Good, Ne-Yo, and Chris Brown, the film celebrates movement as both self-expression and a path toward belonging—perfect for the spirit of Homecoming season.
    Okla Jones, Essence, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Simons didn’t let a lack of minutes early in his career ruin his spirit.
    Jay King, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • There was open-air hate, fear, division, and violence.
    Kevin Powell, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Tallulah referred to a time when her features — particularly her chin — became the target of online hate.
    Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Based on a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, the black beast is powered by a powerful Chevy V-8 and features parts sourced from a British Harrier fighter jet.
    Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2022
  • Malone's black beast in the closet is threatening Alaska now.
    Author: Charles Wohlforth | Opinion, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Mar. 2018
Noun
  • 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
  • Holly hits the road with the activist and brings along a gun, despite her deep need to be near her home and her abhorrence of weapons.
    Maren Longbella, Boston Herald, 30 May 2025
Noun
  • Global leaders are being tested by intractable wars in Gaza,Ukraine and Sudan, uncertainty about the economic and social impact of emerging artificial intelligence technology, and anxiety about Trump’s antipathy for the global body.
    Aamer Madhani, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2025
  • American health-care systems already frayed by a brutal pandemic are being dismantled further, and Americans’ antipathy for one another is having deadly effects on children and families.
    Rachel Pearson, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • But Bickel and his team uncovered treasure within what might normally be thought of as a nuisance.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
  • For the cover of the October 13, 2025, issue, the artist Brian Stauffer chose to see the beauty in what many consider a noisy nuisance.
    Françoise Mouly, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
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.

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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 20 Oct. 2025.

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