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
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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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bugbear
The question of how to fly with a cello is a bugbear among many string players.
—
John Phipps, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
European leaders this week also discussed the thorny issue of future funding for the country, which is a bugbear for Trump.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2025
Duffy’s bugbears include the aforementioned fisticuffs, a lack of pleases and thank yous for staff, and the reluctance of current passengers to help the aged, the infirm, and the pregnant.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2025
Low volumes of trading has been a common bugbear for foreign investors looking at investing in Tadawul.
—Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bugbear
John Phipps, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
European leaders this week also discussed the thorny issue of future funding for the country, which is a bugbear for Trump.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2025
Duffy’s bugbears include the aforementioned fisticuffs, a lack of pleases and thank yous for staff, and the reluctance of current passengers to help the aged, the infirm, and the pregnant.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2025
Low volumes of trading has been a common bugbear for foreign investors looking at investing in Tadawul.
—Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bugbear
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugbear
Noun
-
The many leaps in time to the wedding—to which Ruben shows up on a motorcycle, angry enough to knock his brother out with a single punch—consistently ratchet up the sense of dread, and the suspense over why or how these two have stayed enmeshed.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
-
But fights are just as integral to the Netflix show created by Lee Sung Jin, and the series’ sound team needed to do even more meticulous work building visceral senses of anger, stress, and dread that slowly swallow up the characters and steer them into making a compounding set of poor decisions.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Microplastics have the potential to become a greater headache for an apparel industry too dependent upon plastic fibers.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Some journalists draw a line between the government's mounting headaches and its escalating attacks on the messengers of that news.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Five batters into Sunday’s game and the home run bugaboo that plagued Imanaga last season delivered a sense of déjà vu to the 33,559 fans in attendance at Wrigley Field.—
Andy Martinez,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
-
But defense remains a big bugaboo, especially around the rim.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Gast Studio’s Stem Vase, on show at group exhibition Deoron, features glossy oversized thorn shapes that give the object both a hostile presence and a pleasingly jagged profile, like a rose stem on steroids.—
Francesca Perry,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Shelter has long been a thorn in the side of the inflationary outlook for a very long time.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The point is, instead, to revel in the contrast between the terrors and the impressively unfazed people who navigate them.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
-
In 1602, she was afflicted by a slew of symptoms, such as convulsions, fits, and terrors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
If data centers eventually are included, for example, neighbors could take a hit due to impacts on electricity costs, water access, industrial noise and other nuisances that can come into play when a megaproject moves in next door.—
David Greising,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
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Not all ants are bad for the garden—some help with soil health and pest control—but fire ants and carpenter ants can be serious nuisances or hazards.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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These are effective, but require attacks to be initiated from outside enemy airspace.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Apr. 2026
-
People of faith are not so easily deterred from speaking truth to power, even to power unafraid to drop bombs on its enemies.—
Ciera Bates-Chamberlain,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Most fans understand that the need for more professional-caliber resources wasn’t going to be met under Mohegan Tribe ownership, but there is deep frustration over the Sun’s relocation out of New England.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
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But for the residents and business-owners, the possibility of another set of G train outage evoked frustration after two years of service suspensions while crews worked to upgrade the signaling system on the Crosstown Line.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bugbear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugbear. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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