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View synonyms for bugbear

bugbear

[ buhg-bair ]

noun

  1. any source, real or imaginary, of needless fright or fear.
  2. a persistent problem or source of annoyance.
  3. Folklore. a goblin that eats up naughty children.


bugbear

/ ˈbʌɡˌbɛə /

noun

  1. a thing that causes obsessive fear or anxiety
  2. (in English folklore) a goblin said to eat naughty children and thought to be in the form of a bear
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of bugbear1

First recorded in 1570–80; bug 2 + bear 2
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bugbear1

C16: from bug ² + bear ²; compare bugaboo
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Example Sentences

They swatted aside the Jackets, their bugbear from a season ago, and the Bruins — the team that appeared most equipped to give them trouble in the East — like so many mosquitos, needing just five games to beat each of them.

They asked him if he was president of the Union League - a particular bugbear for the Klan because it sought to organize freedmen.

Will constitutional-law professors replace community organizers and the French as the right's latest bugbear?

So that fastidious snuff-takers may dismiss this bugbear at once and forever.

The chest was soon filled with quilts and that bugbear was gone from her life.

A mere bugbear to frighten children, believe me; and never yet alarmed a brave man.

As for the Tennessee land, so long a will-o'the-wisp and a bugbear, it became tangible property at last.

This bogie, phantom, bugbear, is a supposed influence called "Reaction."

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