1
as in fairy
an imaginary being usually having a small human form and magical powers
in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck is a hobgoblin who plays pranks such as spoiling milk and tripping old ladies
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2
as in dread
something or someone that causes fear or dread especially without reason
the fear of success and the pressures that come with it can be more of a hobgoblin than the possibility of failure
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hobgoblin
Gleeson’s Puck is a malevolent hobgoblin who serves as the royal jester to King Auberon of Faerie.
—
Denise Petski, Deadline, 2 July 2024
Sightings of the mythical Nain Rouge, a red hobgoblin or dwarf that appears on the eve of tragedy, date to Detroit's origin — and locals have reclaimed the spirit with an annual march to scare the demon away, according to tradition.
—Detroit Free Press, 24 Mar. 2024
As Ralph Waldo Emerson might have said in an essay of the same name (and did), a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds; Tommy seems to feel his brain shrinking along with his life.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2024
Consistency is the hobgoblin of large language models.
—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Denise Petski, Deadline, 2 July 2024
Sightings of the mythical Nain Rouge, a red hobgoblin or dwarf that appears on the eve of tragedy, date to Detroit's origin — and locals have reclaimed the spirit with an annual march to scare the demon away, according to tradition.
—Detroit Free Press, 24 Mar. 2024
As Ralph Waldo Emerson might have said in an essay of the same name (and did), a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds; Tommy seems to feel his brain shrinking along with his life.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2024
Consistency is the hobgoblin of large language models.
—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobgoblin
Noun
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The original is set in an Australian rainforest populated by fairies, one of whom accidentally shrinks a logger to fairy size.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Garden Figurine Every fairy garden needs a few enchanting creatures to truly bring it to life.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Tidy your payment app to see numbers without dread and choose calm reactions.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
17 Apr. 2026
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The public discussion still swings between utopian promise and apocalyptic dread.—
Barry R. Davis,
Boston Herald,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The puckish figure draws heavily on Nordic fairy tales, including stories of elves.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Not as great of a kids’ parade as the one at Christmas with elves and Santa Claus and toys and snowmen.—
David McGrath,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Instead, Zendaya’s ogre era will be upon us on June 30, 2027.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
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But an industry that went from celebrating a movie about an Iranian ogre kidnapping an American woman to movies about Iranian people themselves held hostage by a tyrannical state showed exactly why cinematic choices matter.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The move forces her to plunge herself into his fantastical maze-realm to retrieve him in 13 hours, lest he be turned into a goblin.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
16 Apr. 2026
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This one just happens to involve wizards, goblins, and one savage, half-blind dragon.—
Séamas O'Reilly,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But in 2022, the Guidestones became a flashpoint that resulted in a real-world act of domestic terror – a mystery that to this day, has never been solved.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2026
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On Sunday morning, the usual crowds filled the streets as bars and nightclubs were closing in Sacramento when the sound of rapid-fire gunshots sent people running in terror.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
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For example, a dwarf galaxy in isolation might need as long as 14 billion years — essentially the age of the universe — to fully reach its stable form.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
20 Apr. 2026
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Look for taller varieties and avoid dwarfs.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Timings, though, can often be a bugbear.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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The turbulence created in a car’s wake is the eternal bugbear of F1 fans and rulemakers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hobgoblin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobgoblin. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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