˜yÐÄvlog

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View synonyms for

bugbear

[ buhg-bair ]

noun

  1. any source, real or imaginary, of needless fright or fear.
  2. a persistent problem or source of annoyance.
  3. Folklore. a goblin that eats up naughty children.


bugbear

/ ˈ²úʌɡˌ²úɛə /

noun

  1. a thing that causes obsessive fear or anxiety
  2. (in English folklore) a goblin said to eat naughty children and thought to be in the form of a bear
“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
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of bugbear1

First recorded in 1570–80; bug 2 + bear 2
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of bugbear1

C16: from bug ² + bear ²; compare bugaboo
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

She has become something of a bugbear to right-wing media in the weeks since the fires and faced explicitly racist and gender-based blitzing on social media.

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The Trump administration is wasting no time in targeting conservative bugbears.

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The lack of a striker is still the great bugbear.

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The former president spent much of his speech at Madison Square Garden on Sunday railing against a now familiar bugbear: supposed "enemies from within" the United States.

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With roughly half of the UK's households flying once a year, how people behave on planes is an ongoing bugbear.

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