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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hobgoblin
Gleeson’s Puck is a malevolent hobgoblin who serves as the royal jester to King Auberon of Faerie.
—
Denise Petski, Deadline, 2 July 2024
Sightings of the mythical Nain Rouge, a red hobgoblin or dwarf that appears on the eve of tragedy, date to Detroit's origin — and locals have reclaimed the spirit with an annual march to scare the demon away, according to tradition.
—Detroit Free Press, 24 Mar. 2024
As Ralph Waldo Emerson might have said in an essay of the same name (and did), a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds; Tommy seems to feel his brain shrinking along with his life.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2024
Consistency is the hobgoblin of large language models.
—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Denise Petski, Deadline, 2 July 2024
Sightings of the mythical Nain Rouge, a red hobgoblin or dwarf that appears on the eve of tragedy, date to Detroit's origin — and locals have reclaimed the spirit with an annual march to scare the demon away, according to tradition.
—Detroit Free Press, 24 Mar. 2024
As Ralph Waldo Emerson might have said in an essay of the same name (and did), a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds; Tommy seems to feel his brain shrinking along with his life.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2024
Consistency is the hobgoblin of large language models.
—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobgoblin
Noun
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The original is set in an Australian rainforest populated by fairies, one of whom accidentally shrinks a logger to fairy size.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Garden Figurine Every fairy garden needs a few enchanting creatures to truly bring it to life.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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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
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The company behind that trio of elves, some of the most iconic mascots in pop culture, is the same corporation that put breakfast on the table in the first place.—
Heather Bushman,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
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The puckish figure draws heavily on Nordic fairy tales, including stories of elves.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In recent weeks, social media users, especially on X, have been noticing increasing references to goblins, along with other fantasy creatures such as gremlins, ogres and trolls in ChatGPT’s answers to user queries.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
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But the only ogre in this story is Dahl.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The move forces her to plunge herself into his fantastical maze-realm to retrieve him in 13 hours, lest he be turned into a goblin.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
16 Apr. 2026
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This one just happens to involve wizards, goblins, and one savage, half-blind dragon.—
Séamas O'Reilly,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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In 1602, she was afflicted by a slew of symptoms, such as convulsions, fits, and terrors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Big money, uneven returns Steyer’s spending dwarfs every other candidate.—
Grace Hase,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
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The dwarf fig is worth considering.—
Rachel Silva,
Martha Stewart,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This has been one of its main bugbears for years, with several engine types experimented with.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Apr. 2026
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Timings, though, can often be a bugbear.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hobgoblin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobgoblin. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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