variants
also bogies
1
as in dreads
something or someone that causes fear or dread especially without reason
math and math tests have long been bogeys for many students
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in spirits
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
the child believed bogeys lived in the closet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of bogeys
Fitzpatrick had a pair of early bogeys that dropped him six behind Chacarra through five holes of the final round at DLF Golf and Country Club.
—
ABC News, 29 Mar. 2026
Ghim shot 67, making an eagle on the par-5 11th, then giving back the strokes with bogeys on 15 and 16.
—Dallas Morning News, 20 Mar. 2026
In his first four starts at the Players, Young averaged nearly four bogeys-or-worse per round.
—Justin Ray, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2026
Fleetwood had two bogeys and a birdie on the front nine but settled down from there.
—Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
Bhatia did enough early with six birdies in seven holes at the start of his round that even going the last 11 holes with two bogeys and no birdies didn't cost him the lead.
—Arkansas Online, 15 Feb. 2026
Connell hit one birdie, five bogeys and 11 pars in addition to the eagle to reach his score.
—Jack Murray, Boston Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
The opening round of the DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club delivered more than just birdies and bogeys on Thursday.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
ABC News, 29 Mar. 2026
Ghim shot 67, making an eagle on the par-5 11th, then giving back the strokes with bogeys on 15 and 16.
—Dallas Morning News, 20 Mar. 2026
In his first four starts at the Players, Young averaged nearly four bogeys-or-worse per round.
—Justin Ray, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2026
Fleetwood had two bogeys and a birdie on the front nine but settled down from there.
—Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
Bhatia did enough early with six birdies in seven holes at the start of his round that even going the last 11 holes with two bogeys and no birdies didn't cost him the lead.
—Arkansas Online, 15 Feb. 2026
Connell hit one birdie, five bogeys and 11 pars in addition to the eagle to reach his score.
—Jack Murray, Boston Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
The opening round of the DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club delivered more than just birdies and bogeys on Thursday.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bogeys
Noun
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Mirror images except for the fact that Jelani has his hair in dreads, while Ari goes with the more retro-look afro.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Feb. 2026
-
But the have-funs and the have-existential-dreads of the hockey community are every bit as clear.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The vice president of the Gardner PTA, Oralia Rodriguez, even brought ice cream to campus in an effort to lift spirits.—
Da Lin,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
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Pernod Ricard has spent recent years moving away from wine and toward spirits, including the December sale of Mumm Napa to Trinchero Family Wine & Spirits.—
Aidin Vaziri,
San Francisco Chronicle,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Film will ultimately survive as a medium even in the face of overwhelming terrors.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
9 Mar. 2026
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What could be worse than these twin terrors?—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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On top of these apparitions, a human foe, whose motives for committing a crime seem rather nebulous, also exists.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
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As the 14-year-old child of a poor family in 1858, Saint Bernadette experienced numerous apparitions of a young woman in a cave or grotto, seemingly the Virgin Mary, asking for a chapel to be built on the site.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Best Supporting Actress One of Hickey’s bugaboos is the way the supporting races have often been gift-wrapped early, with co-leads like Emilia Pérez’s Zoe Saldaña and A Real Pain’s Kieran Culkin sweeping to victory.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
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Now, for one of their chief bugaboos — a primary culprit for the mediocre record through 32 games.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
25 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
That’s how ghosts come to haunt a place.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
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Of course, ne’er-do-wells saw an opportunity to dress up and commit crimes as ghosts.—
Popular Science Team,
Popular Science,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Doom has corridors, enemies, three-dimensional navigation and a lot of things that are trying to kill you.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
28 Mar. 2026
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Bolstered by a vastly superior air force and hard-to-overwhelm missile defenses, Israel is more than a match for its enemies, even Iran, and will remain so for a decade or more.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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What are the shadows doing, coming off the ridges of those canyons?—
Elizabeth Howell,
Space.com,
29 Mar. 2026
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Riachi leaned into its shadows, installing panelling and perforated screens in American walnut, a timber chosen for its rich, timeless quality.—
Amy Bradford,
Architectural Digest,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bogeys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bogeys. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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