BUGBEARS Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words

bugbears

noun

plural of bugbear

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

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

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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugbears

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

The area is one of the most notorious traffic headaches in the country, with the mountains dividing the bustling Westside employment hub from the San Fernando Valley.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Those headaches create headwinds, but the underlying story provides support.

— Michael Khouw, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of headaches

Noun

Although the film is not true to some parts of the book, which caused some controversy among staunch King fans, Kubrick does bring to life the terrors King so aptly wrote about, including domestic abuse, isolation, helplessness, and alcoholism.

— Radhika Seth, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2026
At scale, migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands.

— Claudia Boyd-Barrett, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of terrors

Noun

Kim can allay some frustrations by doling out luxury apartments, promotions, and access to extravagant lifestyles.

— Jieun Baek, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026
Though this influx has led to frustrations—gentrifying neighborhoods and rising prices—the arrival of more visitors and residents has also brought more opportunity.

— Mary Holland, Robb Report, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of frustrations

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

Definition of bugaboos

Noun

Oliva was being held on an additional bond of $3,650 on charges of possession of a firearm while having a domestic violence injunction, willful disregard of environmental regulations and nuisances injurious to health.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026
Macomb County, Michigan Spongy moths, formerly known as gypsy moths, are an invasive insect that can damage trees and create nuisances for residents, county officials said.

— Paula Wethington, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of nuisances

Noun

Cue an enthralling chase sequence, doubling back through those higgledy-piggledy Portland streetscapes, toward the woods — the impenetrable thickets and thorns of which magically part in her presence.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
Grace Carroll gives a poignant performance as the Nightingale—borne aloft with arched back and trembling, outstretched hands by other dancers, who play thorns that pierce her breast—and Adam Elmes makes a seductively sinister Dorian Gray.

— Hannah Aizenman, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of thorns

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bugbear

bugbears

bugeye

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Style

“Bugbears.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugbears. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of bugbears

noun

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