variants
also bogyman
as in specter
Related Words
Relevance
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 bogeyman
And the foreign bogeyman was no longer the driver.
—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
Some 15 to 20 years ago, MSG was nothing less than a nutritional bogeyman.
—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
23 Feb. 2026
For all of his brutality and bogeyman power, viewers didn’t think of him as a villain.
—
Brian Raftery,
Longreads,
29 Jan. 2026
His other go-to bogeyman, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, is now firmly in his lame-duck era as his term ends this spring.
—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bogeyman
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
Some 15 to 20 years ago, MSG was nothing less than a nutritional bogeyman.
—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
23 Feb. 2026
For all of his brutality and bogeyman power, viewers didn’t think of him as a villain.
—
Brian Raftery,
Longreads,
29 Jan. 2026
His other go-to bogeyman, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, is now firmly in his lame-duck era as his term ends this spring.
—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bogeyman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bogeyman
Noun
-
The Legislature’s independent fiscal analysts have also raised concerns that the state’s books remain vulnerable to the specter of a deep drop-off in the stock market.
-
Civil libertarians say the use of this tracking data raises the specter of mass surveillance on innocent people.
Noun
-
There are highs and lows, angels and demons.
-
Davion Mitchell is a defensive demon.
Noun
-
Night of the Living Dead centers all the action at a farmhouse, where seven people attempt to ward off the ghouls — without any prior knowledge of how to do so.
-
Jittery housemaid Miss Lamb (Thomasin McKenzie) proves less trouble to manage, as Fred scares the wits out of her with bogus talk of a ghoul wandering the Moors.
Noun
-
That’s the £312 million phantom.
-
Such a designation, evidently, would save agents from wasting time chasing phantoms.
Noun
-
Three species of bats inhabit the site, and supernatural events—including the appearance of the gamekeeper’s ghost and the wail of a banshee—have been reported.
-
Weaving, even more than before, makes Grace an ingénue gone banshee.
Noun
-
Thibault in a news conference Tuesday said that authorities believe the incident was not related to terror.
-
Meanwhile, frightful aftershocks continued to rock the area, sowing terror in a population already reaching the limits of endurance.
Noun
-
At her very best, Emily behaves like a petulant pre-adolescent spoiled imp.
-
The second was more bizarre: that some nasty imp in my psyche might decide that jumping was a good idea.
Noun
-
The neutrino is a nearly weightless particle that sails through matter like a phantasm.
-
The ties that bound us together through work and through communal, lived experiences had been severed and replaced with a mere phantasm of connection.
Cite this Entry
“Bogeyman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bogeyman. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
