bugbear
Americannoun
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any source, real or imaginary, of needless fright or fear.
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a persistent problem or source of annoyance.
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Folklore. a goblin that eats up naughty children.
noun
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a thing that causes obsessive fear or anxiety
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(in English folklore) a goblin said to eat naughty children and thought to be in the form of a bear
Etymology
Origin of bugbear
Vocabulary lists containing bugbear
"The Minister's Black Veil," Vocabulary from the short story
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"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," Vocabulary from the political argument
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Four Star Words from Annie Proulx's "Rough Deeds"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
FlatOut 2 Bugbear PlayStation 2/Xbox/PC **** Overview: It�s a racing game!
From Time Magazine Archive
“It’s either foxes or a Blood-Suckin’ Bugbear, an’ I need the headmaster’s permission ter put a charm around the hen coop.”
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
Prithee, no more of these Flights; for our Time's but short, and we must fall into Business: Do you think we can agree on that same terrible Bugbear, Matrimony, without heartily Repenting on both sides.
From The Busie Body by Byrd, Jess
They say the Bugbear is a very ungracious master.
From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 04 Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes by Francke, Kuno
The very name of Drake Was a Bugbear to fright Children; Nurses still'd Their little Spanish Nynnyes when they cryde "Hush! the Drake comes."
From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 2 by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
