1
as in dread
something or someone that causes fear or dread especially without reason
communism was once the nation's biggest bugbear
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in headache
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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of bugbear
Those claims play into concerns about government overreach, a common right-wing bugbear.
—
Ben Guarino, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2024
Players customize their characters’ abilities and personalities to either participate in a roleplaying session, act out scenes with NPCs to further the story, or engage in combat with terrifying monsters like bugbears or gloomstalkers.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Ars Technica, 30 Sep. 2024
Lemon later pressed Musk on his other recent bugbear: diversity, equity, and inclusion.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2024
By Arash Azizi American leftists are facing a question that has become a perennial bugbear.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bugbear 
Ben Guarino, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2024
Players customize their characters’ abilities and personalities to either participate in a roleplaying session, act out scenes with NPCs to further the story, or engage in combat with terrifying monsters like bugbears or gloomstalkers.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Ars Technica, 30 Sep. 2024
Lemon later pressed Musk on his other recent bugbear: diversity, equity, and inclusion.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2024
By Arash Azizi American leftists are facing a question that has become a perennial bugbear.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bugbear
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugbear
Noun
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The image of crew member Frank Silva, spontaneously recruited to play the murderous demon Bob, at the foot of Laura’s bed instills an overwhelming sense of dread, even as a static screenshot.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
16 Jan. 2025
-
The thought of returning to the beach filled her with dread.—
Lila Shapiro,
Vulture,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Other research has found that living near a factory farm is positively associated with risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia, and people who live near them report higher rates of headaches, depression, anger, and respiratory symptoms, such as asthma.—
Kenny Torrella,
Vox,
23 Jan. 2025
-
Stone developed a powder from this bark which, while extremely bitter, proved an effective treatment for headaches.—
Bill Frist,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Can James Franklin officially shed the big-game bugaboo?—
Chris Branch,
The Athletic,
9 Jan. 2025
-
Three-pointer propensity and lack of defense are the two main bugaboos observers point to.—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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That matters because battery life has been a thorn in the Pixel Watch’s side.—
Sheena Vasani,
The Verge,
18 Jan. 2025
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Licensing delays at the Federal Aviation Administration have been a thorn in SpaceX's side for the last couple of years.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
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With no power to fend off poultry farms, neighbors live with stench and nuisances North Carolina keeps poultry farm locations secret.—
Gavin Off,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Jan. 2025
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Like with skateboarding, Kemp says, many leaders saw stickball as a nuisance that disrupted commerce.—
Greg Rosalsky,
NPR,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Already this year, members of the team were dispatched to New Orleans following the New Year’s terror attack and to Las Vegas in response to the Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump hotel.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN,
15 Jan. 2025
-
Fighting began in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a terror attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC News,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Also Wednesday, some scientists on social media posted frustrations that the NIH had stopped approving money for research grants through its review groups, called study sections.—
Erika Edwards,
NBC News,
23 Jan. 2025
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As frustration mounts, a once-fringe idea regains traction: secession.—
Dr. Alex Gold,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Sailing teaches us that being an honorable competitor is more important than being a top competitor because while every race is there to lose, luck is the omnipresent hobgoblin.—
Conor Mastromarco,
Baltimore Sun,
18 Nov. 2024
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Gleeson’s Puck is a malevolent hobgoblin who serves as the royal jester to King Auberon of Faerie.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
2 July 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near bugbear
Cite this Entry
“Bugbear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugbear. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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