bogeyman

American  

[boog-ee-man, boh-gee-, boo-] / ˈbʊg iˌmæn, ˈboʊ gi-, ˈbu- /

South Midland and Southern U.S., boogeyman or bogyman

noun

• bogeymen
  plural

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

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bogeyman British  

/ ˈbəʊɡɪˌmæn /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bogeymen
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of bogeyman

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bogeyman bogeymen

The world-ending A.I. bogeyman becomes even less believable when the warnings are placed in proper context.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

The third holds that we’ve come a long way in ridding ourselves of racism—particularly of the institutional kind—but stops short of declaring the bogeyman dead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026

From despair and optimism to downright fear of new England bogeyman Mitchell Starc.

From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2025

Genetics seems to be the big driver, reinforcing the argument that autism is a normal human variation and there is no Big Pharma bogeyman at the heart of this issue.

From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2025

The bogeyman our mothers used to threaten us with when we were slow to finish our meals.

From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed

But that angst can be projected onto bogeymen.

From Salon ● May 8, 2023

Both are worldly, well into middle age, and both sense the need to explore their own catacombs and confront the bogeymen within.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2022

The boss of Iceland said it was "not helpful" to make firms the bogeymen.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2021

The real-life Jewell endured a nightmare, but the cautionary tale that the movie inadvertently tells is about only being able to see ancient bogeymen as new monsters continue to emerge.

From Slate ● Dec. 9, 2019

Maureen, who was four and had a terrible fear of bogeymen, kept dreaming that intruders in Halloween masks were coming through the open doors to get us.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

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