as in dreads
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
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Recent Examples of bugaboos
James went down a lengthy list of bugaboos that hurt the Chargers, including but not limited to 14 penalties totaling 107 yards, the Giants’ 7-for-15 efficiency on third downs, a lackluster start that featured deficits of 10-0 and 13-3 in the first half and a failure to force a New York turnover.
—
Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 28 Sep. 2025
Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugaboos
Noun
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Other introspective angles are explored during Mariano’s audiences with his friend the Pope (Rufin Doh Zeyenouin), a serene Black man with a head crowned by a bundle of silver dreads, who tools around the Vatican on a motorbike.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
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As with many of A24's horror movies, we're left to ponder whether anything supernatural happens as Maud's quest reaches its apotheosis, proving that fanatical belief is enough to inspire great terrors.—
Dennis Perkins,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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The internet gives us more opportunity to be exposed to noteworthy terrors from other countries.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Anyway, as this supporter told Sky Sports, one of their bugbears is that Chelsea Dagger doesn’t actually have anything to do with Chelsea Football Club.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Sure, to be entirely historically accurate, negative things like plagues, beheadings and poverty would likely factor in to the villagers’ lives.—
Kate Bradshaw,
Mercury News,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Lower courts have ruled Trump overstepped his authority under a law historically used for imposing economic sanctions and other penalties on foreign enemies.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
24 Oct. 2025
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Price, a former Navy man, is conveying the exhaustion of Black sailors and soldiers in a military that continues to enshrine—most recently, in the names of Army bases—its Confederate enemies.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The 40th release, however, marks the first time the brand has ever released a tequila—an extra añejo blend put together by a leading name in the agave spirits industry.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
5 Nov. 2025
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Cushla’s world is full of defiant spirits, including her mother, a woman struggling with addiction who spends most of her days bound to her living room and the bottom of a bottle.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bugaboos.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugaboos. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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