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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugbears
Noun
-
The conductor described the offender as a Black male with a tan jacket, blue jeans, and short dreads.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Mirror images except for the fact that Jelani has his hair in dreads, while Ari goes with the more retro-look afro.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome causes fatigue, fever, muscle aches, abdominal problems, headaches, chills and dizziness in the early stages, and late symptoms include chest tightness, coughing, shortness of breath and lungs filling with fluid.—
Mary Whitfill Roeloffs,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
The incident left him with frequent headaches, anxiety and memory loss, and exacerbated his gastritis.—
Andrea Castillo,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Svetlana Gannushkina, an 88-year-old human rights defender who lived through the Soviet era, fears a return to its familiar terrors under Putin.—
Anna Nemtsova,
Time,
23 May 2026
-
That show landed in the summer of 2020, right when the country needed a charming, good-hearted antidote to the terrors of COVID lockdown and an impending election.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
Some diners, though, have empathy with restaurateurs despite their frustrations.—
Connie Ogle
Updated May 27,
Miami Herald,
27 May 2026
-
Coupled with primary victories for incumbents from the state party’s left wing who fended off more moderate challengers, Democrats are looking to capitalize on voter frustrations and national economic uncertainty to fuel their success.—
Riley Bunch,
AJC.com,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
For buyers whose lives are otherwise optimized to the point of abstraction, taking on those tangible nuisances can feel almost noble.—
Spencer Elliott,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2026
-
Japanese beetles and slugs are pesky nuisances that will go after the basil in your garden.—
Heather Bien,
Southern Living,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
In another fates-or-hobgoblins moment, a discombobulated Washington had started a war.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Noun
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In recent weeks, social media users, especially on X, have been noticing increasing references to goblins, along with other fantasy creatures such as gremlins, ogres and trolls in ChatGPT’s answers to user queries.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Bugbears.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugbears. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
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