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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Recent Examples of hobgoblin
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
The narrative unfolds communally around a table, with plenty of backtracking, retconning, and joking—and avoiding the small-minded hobgoblins of consistency and rules-lawyering.
—Ethan Gilsdorf, WIRED, 27 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
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
The narrative unfolds communally around a table, with plenty of backtracking, retconning, and joking—and avoiding the small-minded hobgoblins of consistency and rules-lawyering.
—Ethan Gilsdorf, WIRED, 27 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobgoblin
Noun
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Her younger sister, meanwhile, was dressed as a purple fairy.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
PEOPLE,
1 Nov. 2025
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And then Justin came in and sprinkled fairy dust on it all.—
Marissa R. Moss,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Melissa's mysteries capture interest Hurricane scientists watched with a familiar feeling of dread as Melissa traversed the Caribbean.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
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Imagine not suffering existential dread over Tilly Norwood; imagine the freedom to choose to use AI for interstitial shots without kicking the Letterboxd hornets’ nest, as did the brothers Cairnes with Late Night With the Devil back in 2024.—
Andy Crump,
Time,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The hanging fireplace, seemingly lit by house elves, pairs nicely with the gratis bottles of spirits and Chilean wine.—
Laura Dannen Redman,
Robb Report,
16 Oct. 2025
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And all these dwarves and elves and humans go, ‘What?—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Just throw in some ogre and donkey ears, and you’re set.—
James Factora,
Them.,
17 Oct. 2025
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On his journey, Geralt slices up several soldiers, a giant, ogre-like creature and a ghostly wraith.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There’s a Redwall vibe to the third installment, as fan-favorite rattkin Fern gets carried away on an impromptu adventure involving a chaos-goblin who holds a bounty tempting enough for all the ne’er-do-wells to try and collect on.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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The electric vehicle company is rolling out a seasonal theme as a part of its software update that's made for ghouls, goblins and things that go bump in the night.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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That mixture of terror and safety is the secret sauce for Mike Jubie, creator of the Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted Houses in New York’s historic Hudson Valley.—
Isabel Rosales,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
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On the other, a vision of what life would be like without the terror group.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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After a chance encounter on the road, the cheerful dwarf Zoltan Chivay (Danny Woodburn) combines his crew with Geralt’s.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
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Additionally, there is Zoltan (Danny Woodburn), the fan-favorite dwarf with some rather thrilling skills, and several others to round out the already expansive cast.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Inflation will be a major bugbear for Takaichi to tackle, experts previously told CNBC.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
23 Oct. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Hobgoblin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobgoblin. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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