Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for bogeyman

bogeyman

or bo·gy·man

[ boog-ee-man, boh-gee-, boo- ]

noun

, plural bo·gey·men.
  1. an imaginary evil character of supernatural powers, especially a mythical hobgoblin supposed to carry off naughty children.


bogeyman

/ ˈbəʊɡɪˌmæn /

noun

  1. a person, real or imaginary, used as a threat, esp to children
“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


Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of bogeyman1

First recorded in 1885–90; bogey 1 (variant of bogy 1, in the sense “a hobgoblin, evil spirit”) + man
Discover More

Example Sentences

For the left, the situation represented the right’s opposition to progress and fixation on cultural bogeymen.

From TIme

Its rise has been powered by a strategy of mobilizing Hindu voters using the country’s minorities as the bogeyman.

From Time

Kashmir thus fits neatly into the BJP’s use of Muslims as the bogeyman to unite the vastly disparate Hindu voter base against the dangerous “other.”

From Time

The movement has served, at times, as a bogeyman for police and the far right in general, with Snohomish’s own police chief resigning last year, days before the Back The Blue rally, after he fueled rumors of an ominous antifa mob approaching town.

A neo-Nazi alliance called Right Sector, which was active in pro-Maidan violence, is another bogeyman.

What went before, an interim framework agreement that caused a great deal of controversy, is no longer the bogeyman.

Insurance is a large and varied industry, and frequently plays the heavy and bogeyman, especially the health insurers.

“China has replaced Japan as the bogeyman of East Asia in terms of international investment,” said Milhaupt.

Hamas remains the bogeyman, much as the PLO was, before Madrid and Oslo, but with some crucial differences.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


bogey-holeboggart