Thesaurus results for BUGABOOS

bugaboos

noun

plural of bugaboo

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

Synonyms & Similar 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 bugaboos 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 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 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 Getting the focus right is one of the bugaboos of using a telephoto lens for astrophotography, because the focus on such lenses is touchy and easily gets knocked off kilter. — IEEE Spectrum, 28 Apr. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugaboos

Noun

Royals, who has typically sported some of the team’s most stylish hair, cut his dreads last week.

— Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2026
He's described by officials as a Black male in his late teens with a medium-large build and thick dreads.

— Nick Lentz, CBS News, 15 June 2026

Definition of dreads

Noun

This has been one of its main bugbears for years, with several engine types experimented with.

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 Apr. 2026
The bugbears of this season — wasting promising chances (though Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce deserves credit for many of those) and some vulnerability to counter-attacks — remained.

— Cerys Jones, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026

Definition of bugbears

Noun

Most people go to campgrounds to escape the plagues of modern technology, so try to keep the decibels to a minimum.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026
The deadliest animal to have ever roamed the earth is not the great white shark, or snakes, or even rats that caused three great plagues in history, decimating the human population at the time.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 26 July 2026

Definition of plagues

Noun

Since coming to power in 2012, the ruling populist party has gradually established control over mainstream media while often describing embattled critical outlets as enemies of the state.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
Raz, in his MDA talk, said the backlash against Israel was a campaign orchestrated by radical activists and Israel’s enemies.

— Stewart Ain, Sun Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of enemies

Noun

Upstairs, on the top floor, the bar serves vintage hard-to-get champagne and spirits by the glass.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Sep. 2026
The 13 months since have become a collective effort to lift the spirits of Brotheron, who has also played alongside artists like Patty Griffin, Caroline Herring, Rodney Hayden, and Andy Hedges.

— Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of spirits

Browse Nearby Words

bugaboo

bugaboos

bugbear

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Bugaboos.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugaboos. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of bugaboos

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

heterodox

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes