bête noire

American  

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

noun

PLURAL

bêtes noires

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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Etymology

Origin of bête noire

1835–45; < French: literally, black beast

Example Sentences

Microplastics are the current bete noire and rightly so, but we’re still in the dark about the causal calamity of a past era’s chemical polluting.

From Los Angeles Times

"He was no-one's bête noire," said one Western diplomat in Tripoli, explaining Mr Dbeibah's appointment by a UN-led process that created the interim government.

From BBC

Microsoft’s experience as the antitrust bête noire is well trodden, but nonetheless instructive.

From Seattle Times

The courts meanwhile jailed a succession of once senior officials on corruption charges, while the ageing head of the military, the bete noire of some protesters, died suddenly of a heart attack.

From Reuters

Sorrell is now head of the UK’s sixth-biggest listed media company, with a value equal to a fifth of his bete noire WPP, and has continued to grow it even during the coronavirus pandemic.

From The Guardian