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bête noire

[beyt nwahr; French bet nwar]
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noun, plural bêtes noires [beyt nwahrz; French bet nwar] /ˌbeɪt ˈnwɑrz; French bɛt ˈnwar/.

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

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RELATED WORDS

adversary, anathema, antagonist, bane, bugbear, competitor, curse, devil, enemy, foe, opponent, plague, rival, trouble

Nearby words

  1. béranger,
  2. béranger, pierre jean de,
  3. béziers,
  4. bêche,
  5. bêche-de-mer,
  6. bêtise,
  7. bío-bío,
  8. bône,
  9. böhm,
  10. böhm flute

Origin of bête noire

1835–45; < French: literally, black beast
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bete noire

British Dictionary definitions for bete noire

bête noire

noun plural bêtes noires (bɛt nwar)

a person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads

Word Origin for bête noire

literally: black beast
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
Word Origin and History for bete noire

bete noire

n.

"insufferable person," 1844, from French bête noire "personal aversion," as an adjective, "stupid, foolish;" literally "the black beast."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for bete noire

bête noire

[(bet nwahr)]

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.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with bete noire

bête noire

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.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.