1
as in dread
something or someone that causes fear or dread especially without reason
communism was once the nation's biggest bugbear
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in headache
something that is a source of irritation
hated all the bugbears of modern life, especially those long commutes to work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bugbear
Defense spending has been a thorny subject for NATO members for years, and a persistent bugbear for Trump.
—
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 5 June 2025
Under his leadership, Michigan had a robust Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program — a bugbear for Republicans — until announcing in March that it would be dismantled.
—Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 4 June 2025
Kuo also said the iPhone Fold, as it likely won’t be called, will address the biggest bugbear for folders: a too-visible crease in the internal display when it’s opened.
—David Phelan, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
To attribute the corrosion of institutional trust to such bugbears as relativism or postmodernism is to ignore explanations that are both more concrete and more parsimonious.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bugbear
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 5 June 2025
Under his leadership, Michigan had a robust Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program — a bugbear for Republicans — until announcing in March that it would be dismantled.
—Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 4 June 2025
Kuo also said the iPhone Fold, as it likely won’t be called, will address the biggest bugbear for folders: a too-visible crease in the internal display when it’s opened.
—David Phelan, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
To attribute the corrosion of institutional trust to such bugbears as relativism or postmodernism is to ignore explanations that are both more concrete and more parsimonious.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bugbear
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugbear
Noun
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The Internet's Emotional Reaction The video's initial reactions on TikTok were a mix of playful dread and pure joy.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Aug. 2025
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Frost’s pastoral landscapes are haunted by loss and shadowed by anxiety, doubt and dread.—
A.O. Scott,
New York Times,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The fight over transit funding is just one part of a bigger headache—Pennsylvania’s budget is more than nine weeks late.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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Symptoms of Chagas disease include fever, fatigue, body aches, headache, rash, loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, and eyelid swelling.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Recent evidence points to the Marlins being the kind of bugaboo for the New York teams, who face differing degrees of difficulty in their quests to become division winners.—
Larry Fleisher,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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Instead, the world over will have to increase more reliable energy sources, particularly coal, natural gas and that other bugaboo of environmentalists, nuclear energy.—
Peter Murphy,
Hartford Courant,
18 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Primus has expressed skepticism about rail mergers and would likely have been a thorn in the side of this rail merger.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The Angels pulled out a 4-3 victory as Jo Adell remained a thorn in the Royals’ side.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Couples who respect yellow lights tend to build trust, because hesitation is treated as valuable input, not as a nuisance.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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In this era of college athletics what was once a nuisance and an annoyance — college classes — now often appear to not even be a part of the equation.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
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London — Large crowds of people protesting the British government’s decision to ban the activist group Palestine Action gathered in London’s Parliament Square on Saturday, in a show of continuing support since it was designated as a terror organization in July.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
6 Sep. 2025
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For Bear, the new arrangement is great about 99 percent of the time… the only drawback is that Nikki occasionally snaps back into her old self and screams in utter terror for a few seconds, before resuming the love-bombing.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As the Supreme Court increasingly shows frustration with the overreach of lower court judges, the justices could be motivated to take up cases more quickly on matters where lower courts are ignoring their emergency docket orders, such as with the firing of independent agency heads.—
Jack Birle,
The Washington Examiner,
4 Sep. 2025
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Advocates expressed frustration, emphasizing the need for comfortable and safe air travel for all passengers.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But there’s one old-school hobgoblin that’s lurking around the edges of this narrative, omnipresent, repeated across a number of notable new titles, but still somehow avoiding the limelight: the witch.—
Payton McCarty-Simas,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Aug. 2025
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Sailing teaches us that being an honorable competitor is more important than being a top competitor because while every race is there to lose, luck is the omnipresent hobgoblin.—
Conor Mastromarco,
Baltimore Sun,
18 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Bugbear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugbear. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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