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
Consistency is the hobgoblin of large language models.
—
Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2023
While the community might celebrate the hobgoblin’s induction into Detroit culture, Detroiters must always keep watch for when the Nain Rouge returns and provokes disaster.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 8 Aug. 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
Powell & Co are now eyeing consumer service prices as the latest hobgoblin to hound.
—Gary Drenik, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2023
While the community might celebrate the hobgoblin’s induction into Detroit culture, Detroiters must always keep watch for when the Nain Rouge returns and provokes disaster.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 8 Aug. 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
Powell & Co are now eyeing consumer service prices as the latest hobgoblin to hound.
—Gary Drenik, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobgoblin
Noun
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That feeling of dread is really only a response to our dread as to what humans are capable of.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Aug. 2025
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Right now, a legislator, even Anwar, spending time in prison adds to the whispers of dread circulating around Hartford.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Moms are the do-it-all elves who make the holidays happen.—
Elizabeth Broadbent,
Miami Herald,
1 Aug. 2025
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Mingle with enchanting wizards, witches, elves, fairies, princesses and dragons.—
Caroline Ritzie,
The Enquirer,
25 July 2025
Noun
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Monster cats, women with ravenous mouths in the back of their heads, mountain goblins, mermaids with carp bodies, foxes that transform into samurai messengers—the list goes on.—
Katherine Larson
July 16,
Literary Hub,
16 July 2025
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In fact, Bolg is the name of a goblin prince from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.—
Margherita Bassi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
20 June 2025
Noun
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The researchers named the fossil Fiona after the ogre in Shrek, because its bones briefly turned green from a reaction to the glue used to protect them, reports Kenneth Chang at the New York Times.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 July 2025
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The Castle Party Puzzle Four creatures — a unicorn, a dragon, an ogre, and a gnome — are on their way from the village of Bupkis to a royal party at Meriwether Castle.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Tell me a little bit about the technical side of filming a dwarf and an elf together.—
Devan Coggan,
EW.com,
13 Oct. 2022
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Other new characters include Disa, the first female dwarf ever shown in the Lord of the Rings series.—
Ethan Millman,
Rolling Stone,
22 July 2022
Noun
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Defense spending has been a thorny subject for NATO members for years, and a persistent bugbear for Trump.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
5 June 2025
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Under his leadership, Michigan had a robust Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program — a bugbear for Republicans — until announcing in March that it would be dismantled.—
Philissa Cramer,
Sun Sentinel,
4 June 2025
Noun
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Far to the north, in the Montes de Maria region where Nawar Jimenez grew up, the terror instilled by armed groups is also deep-rooted.—
Ladan Anoushfar,
CNN Money,
6 Aug. 2025
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Virginia Woolf’s wild run of creativity in her 40s included writing her masterpiece on the terrors and triumphs of middle age.—
Hillary Kelly,
The Atlantic,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The Unseelie Court is the bastion of malevolent faeries who harm humans for their amusement or to exact revenge.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
27 Nov. 2024
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For instance, people used to hang iron on their doors at night to keep faeries and demons out of their homes (talismans) and a knock on the door in the middle of the night was to be ignored, for surely some evil spirit was lurking outside.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
27 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Hobgoblin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobgoblin. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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