as in dreads
something or someone that causes fear or dread especially without reason
doing one's tax returns is a real bugaboo for a lot of people
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bugaboos
Best Supporting Actress One of Hickey’s bugaboos is the way the supporting races have often been gift-wrapped early, with co-leads like Emilia Pérez’s Zoe Saldaña and A Real Pain’s Kieran Culkin sweeping to victory.
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Nate Jones,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Now, for one of their chief bugaboos — a primary culprit for the mediocre record through 32 games.
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Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
25 Dec. 2025
James went down a lengthy list of bugaboos that hurt the Chargers, including but not limited to 14 penalties totaling 107 yards, the Giants’ 7-for-15 efficiency on third downs, a lackluster start that featured deficits of 10-0 and 13-3 in the first half and a failure to force a New York turnover.
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Elliott Teaford,
Oc Register,
28 Sep. 2025
Getting the focus right is one of the bugaboos of using a telephoto lens for astrophotography, because the focus on such lenses is touchy and easily gets knocked off kilter.
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IEEE Spectrum,
28 Apr. 2024
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Now, for one of their chief bugaboos — a primary culprit for the mediocre record through 32 games.
—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
25 Dec. 2025
James went down a lengthy list of bugaboos that hurt the Chargers, including but not limited to 14 penalties totaling 107 yards, the Giants’ 7-for-15 efficiency on third downs, a lackluster start that featured deficits of 10-0 and 13-3 in the first half and a failure to force a New York turnover.
—
Elliott Teaford,
Oc Register,
28 Sep. 2025
Getting the focus right is one of the bugaboos of using a telephoto lens for astrophotography, because the focus on such lenses is touchy and easily gets knocked off kilter.
—
IEEE Spectrum,
28 Apr. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugaboos
Noun
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He's described by officials as a Black male in his late teens with a medium-large build and thick dreads.
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Mirror images except for the fact that Jelani has his hair in dreads, while Ari goes with the more retro-look afro.
Noun
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The year since has been one of night-terrors and grief for the families who lost loved ones.
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Coming later this year, Bass X Macina is set in a lawless Steampunk West overrun by brutal outlaws, machines and supernatural terrors, while Sparks of Tomorrow follows how technological progress evolved along a different path shaped by steam power blankets Kyoto in smoke.
Noun
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This has been one of its main bugbears for years, with several engine types experimented with.
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The bugbears of this season — wasting promising chances (though Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce deserves credit for many of those) and some vulnerability to counter-attacks — remained.
Noun
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The nets, for the most part, stay out consistently, says Roos, though they are checked regularly, every few days, which prevents not only the algae problem that plagues farmed fish, but also fishermen, as well.
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Previously, older strains appeared to lack the genetic traits that enabled them to spread, leading scientists to think that early plagues were unlikely to trigger outbreaks.
Noun
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In another fates-or-hobgoblins moment, a discombobulated Washington had started a war.
Noun
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Later in the Hebrew Bible Lot is mentioned primarily in reference to his descendants, the Moabites and Ammonites, who are described as periodic enemies of the Israelites.
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So why is cryptocurrency now getting a pass to work with American enemies?
Noun
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Koval Distillery, Chicago’s first legal post-Prohibition distillery, produces spirits as artful as its bottle designs and Vin312 Winery has grown from its owner’s garage into a full-fledged tasting room.
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The release continues Tamworth’s tradition of creating spirits inspired by the natural world around its rural New Hampshire home.
Cite this Entry
“Bugaboos.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugaboos. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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