1
as in dreads
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 headaches
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 bugbears
Duffy’s bugbears include the aforementioned fisticuffs, a lack of pleases and thank yous for staff, and the reluctance of current passengers to help the aged, the infirm, and the pregnant.
—
Raven Smith, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2025
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
Raven Smith, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugbears
Noun
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Also, there is this human white boy with dreads, Spider, a Tarzan type who hangs around the Sullys with the help of an oxygen mask.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
18 Dec. 2025
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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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But in the weeks leading up to Christmas of 2021, Avery started getting headaches.—
Isabella Backman,
Hartford Courant,
27 Jan. 2026
-
No headaches, no residual or negative effects from the accident.—
Will Rice,
Outside,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The lustrous surfaces hide moral horrors, silence emotional terrors, and block out the filth beyond their boundaries.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
17 Jan. 2026
-
What better way to avoid the terrors of Dry January than by sneaking yourself into the cozy snug of The Pub, a compendium of Britain’s quintessential third space.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
3 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The weather — moods, misunderstandings, frustrations, disappointments — is variable.—
Glenn Kurlander,
Fortune,
28 Jan. 2026
-
In a December meeting, commissioners acknowledged customers’ frustrations, but added that the winds blew down hundreds of power lines onto the dry landscape.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
The park doesn’t need all these associated nuisances.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Jan. 2026
-
In Milwaukee, nuisances include loud music, loitering and littering.—
Quinn Clark,
jsonline.com,
25 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Shrek and Fiona are now both full-time ogres, but Fiona’s parents (John Cleese and Julie Andrews) aren’t too thrilled, as a particularly tense family dinner scene makes clear.—
Skyler Trepel September 1,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
These territorial thorns aside, Zelensky has said a proposed three-way split of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant between the US, Russia and Ukraine remains a big stumbling block.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
21 Jan. 2026
-
The Teyana Taylor x Air Jordan 1, her first sneaker collaboration, released in 2023 with a predominantly red colorway featuring green thorns on its Swoosh and a massive removable gold-tone metal charm featuring her initials and a rose.—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bugbears.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugbears. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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