as in dread
something or someone that causes fear or dread especially without reason
doing one's tax returns is a real bugaboo for a lot of people
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bugaboo
Purdy’s biggest bugaboo could be interceptions.
—
Cam Inman, Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2026
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
Stefon Diggs factored heavily into the comeback, specifically by defeating man-to-man coverage, which had been a bugaboo for this receiving corps lately.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
Getting stops should be Denver’s biggest bugaboo without Gordon and Braun.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 23 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bugaboo
Cam Inman, Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2026
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
Stefon Diggs factored heavily into the comeback, specifically by defeating man-to-man coverage, which had been a bugaboo for this receiving corps lately.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
Getting stops should be Denver’s biggest bugaboo without Gordon and Braun.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 23 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bugaboo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugaboo
Noun
-
Tidy your payment app to see numbers without dread and choose calm reactions.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The public discussion still swings between utopian promise and apocalyptic dread.—
Barry R. Davis,
Boston Herald,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
And there will surely be a cascade of tears and terrors in-between.—
Selome Hailu,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
-
They were included to demonstrate the similarities between cases and the terror that victims were forced to endure.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Timings, though, can often be a bugbear.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The turbulence created in a car’s wake is the eternal bugbear of F1 fans and rulemakers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Another kind of typhus, carried by lice and caused by the bacteria Rickettsia prowazekii, produced historic plagues that devastated populations during times of war, famine and poverty, the National Institutes for Health said.—
Don Sweeney
April 8,
Sacbee.com,
8 Apr. 2026
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His church becomes a vital part of Homelander’s plan, just as Homelander’s delusions of divinity soon become everyone’s plague.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Tavatanakit had eight birdies and a bogey in the morning session.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Young came unstuck with back-to-back bogeys at six and seven, while the perennial runner-up Rose dropped a couple of strokes at Amen Corner.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bugaboo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugaboo. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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