bête noire

American  

[beyt nwahr, bet nwar] / ˌbeɪt ˈnwɑr, bɛt ˈnwar /

noun

bêtes noires plural

1. a person or thing especially disliked or dreaded; bane; bugbear.

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bête noire British  

/ bɛt nwar /

noun

1. a person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads

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bête noire Cultural  

1. Something or someone a person views with particular dislike: “The new candidate for governor is the bête noire of all the liberals in the state.” From French, meaning “black beast.”

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bête noire Idioms  

1. A person or thing that is particularly disliked. For example, Calculus was the bête noire of my freshman courses. This phrase, French for “black beast,” entered the English language in the early 1800s. For synonyms, see pain in the neck; thorn in one's flesh.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bêtes noires
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bête noire

1835–45; < French: literally, black beast

Example Sentences

The bête noire of that nationalist wing is Russia’s former defense minister and current National Security Council chief Sergei Shoigu, a onetime Putin confidant blamed for mishandling the initial stages of the war.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

But it remains a bête noire for critics of mass incarceration.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2024

They are the bête noire of many nutritionists - mass-produced yet moreish foods like chicken nuggets, packaged snacks, fizzy drinks, ice cream or even sliced brown bread.

From BBC • Jul. 27, 2024

Confusion over source “is the bête noire of trademark law — the thing that stands directly opposed to the law’s twin goals of facilitating consumers’ choice and protecting producers’ good will.”

From Seattle Times • Jun. 8, 2023

Long before he died, the world had found in Max Reger its musical bête noire.

From Musical Portraits Interpretations of Twenty Modern Composers by Rosenfeld, Paul