Bugbear
ahd-5
noun.
A cause of fear, anxiety, or irritation.
noun.
A difficult or persistent problem.
noun.
A fearsome imaginary creature, especially one evoked to frighten children.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
noun.
Something that causes terror; especially, something that causes needless fright or apprehension.
Occasioning causeless fear: as, “such
bugbear
thoughts,”
To alarm with imaginary or idle fears.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
noun.
Same as
bugaboo
.
transitive verb.
To alarm with idle phantoms.
Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
noun.
An
ongoing
problem
; a
recurring
obstacle
or
adversity
.
noun.
A source of
dread
;
resentment
; or
irritation
.
noun.
An imaginary creature meant to inspire fear in children.
verb.
To
alarm
with
idle
phantoms
.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
noun.
an imaginary monster used to frighten children
noun.
an object of dread or apprehension
cross-reference
bogeyman
bogy
bugaboo
bête noire
Hypernym
Words that are more generic or abstract
monster
object
Same Context
Words that are found in similar contexts
bogie
bugaboo
guff
hoodoo
noire
Synonym
Words with the same meaning
Dracula
Frankenstein
Mumbo Jumbo
Wolf-man
affliction
variant
bugaboo