hobgoblins

noun

plural of hobgoblin
1
as in elves
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in dreads
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 hobgoblins In another fates-or-hobgoblins moment, a discombobulated Washington had started a war. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobgoblins
  1. elves
  2. dreads
  3. fairies
  4. terrors
  5. goblins
  6. ogres
  7. dwarfs
  8. spirits
Noun
  • The Rock the Holiday Christmas Parade with new floats and characters will feature elves, chefs, bakers and toy makers singing and dancing to classic Christmas songs during the procession through the park.
    — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 12 Nov. 2026
  • There isn’t just catastrophizing happening amid the elves, the humans, and the dwarves — now there’s gossip!
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of elves
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
  • Meet fairies, walk through Pixie’s Detour and the Rainbow Rainforest, hunt for Giant Dandelions and treasure, chat with Archimedes the talking tree (in English or Spanish), visit the Tree of Life and unlock the Secret Garden laser show.
    — Kari Barnett, Sun Sentinel, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Saturday, utilizes 56,000 square feet of indoor space to host more than 200 vendors, sword-fighting, costume contests, live musicians, mermaids, fairies and photo ops.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of fairies
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
  • Printable Boo Sign Scare away ghosts and goblins with a bright-colored BOO sign.
    — Nicole Harris, Parents, 22 Oct. 2026
  • From glittering ghosts, ghastly goblins and wicked witches to wily warlocks, fashion can inspire any Halloween transformation.
    — Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of goblins
Noun
  • Of course ogres and adversaries can shift shapes over decades.
    — Scott Simon, NPR, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Ella is a young woman cursed to obey all instructions whose quest for self-determination also turns her into an advocate for the kingdom’s oppressed elves and ogres.
    — Chris Bellamy, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of ogres
Noun
  • There isn’t just catastrophizing happening amid the elves, the humans, and the dwarves — now there’s gossip!
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Even when the visuals wowed, the characters weren’t memorable enough (save for the dwarves), the stories weren’t fun enough (again, except for the dwarves), and the twists weren’t smart enough.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of dwarfs
Noun
  • Vallow Daybell holds doomsday religious beliefs and has claimed that people in her life were possessed by evil spirits.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • This can be especially uncomfortable when the prevailing narrative holds its own special significance, but pondering such complexities strengthens our minds and our spirits.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of spirits

Browse Nearby Words

hobgoblin
hobgoblins
hobnob
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hobgoblins.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobgoblins. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of lissome

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All