as in dread
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
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Recent Examples of bugaboo
Entry Passes To Nikola Jokic One of the ongoing bugaboos for the Nuggets through the course of the career of their three-time MVP and Finals MVP Nikola Jokic has been his teammates’ inability at times to simply feed him the ball in the post.
—
Joel Rush, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
The bugaboos have been controlling his high walk rate and limiting hard contact, something both the White Sox and Dodgers felt was tied to predictable pitch usage.
—Fabian Ardaya, The Athletic, 6 Aug. 2024
The losing side failed to clear 70 points in all three of those contests, and offensive rebounds — the bugaboo of the 2023 U.S. World Cup team — were pivotal (and incredibly frequent) in two of them.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 16 July 2024
Nevada was hindered by poor free-throw shooting, a bugaboo in recent games.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bugaboo 
Joel Rush, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
The bugaboos have been controlling his high walk rate and limiting hard contact, something both the White Sox and Dodgers felt was tied to predictable pitch usage.
—Fabian Ardaya, The Athletic, 6 Aug. 2024
The losing side failed to clear 70 points in all three of those contests, and offensive rebounds — the bugaboo of the 2023 U.S. World Cup team — were pivotal (and incredibly frequent) in two of them.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 16 July 2024
Nevada was hindered by poor free-throw shooting, a bugaboo in recent games.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bugaboo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugaboo
Noun
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The plans put in place to find a positive way forward included the following: The Merrillville Advantage: A proactive approach of sharing the many positive attributes that a diverse student body could bring to the community instead of having an atmosphere of fear or dread.—
Dr. Tony Lux,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
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However, throngs of people wading into the Ganga often stoked the dread of infection and disease.—
Sudipta Sen,
The Conversation,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Kevin Lamarque | Reuters As U.S. President Donald Trump looks to immediately fix his greatest political and economic bugbears, the thorny issue of NATO defense spending is likely to quickly return to the global fore.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
23 Jan. 2025
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The billionaire’s post on his social network X referred specifically to a Trump executive order ending federal diversity, equity and inclusion mandates — a longtime bugbear of world’s richest person, who runs six companies and has railed against DEI efforts for years.—
Bloomberg,
Orange County Register,
21 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But it has generally been marked by moments like the Canadian response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States.—
Matina Stevis-Gridneff,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2025
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Also, the already well secured game and the surrounding area is under even more of a lockdown due to the terror attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day that saw 15 people dead when a truck drove straight into a celebrating crowd.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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As the empire tries to inflict its imperialism on the island, it is met by a disease called the Dream Scourge, a plague of the soul that drives people mad.—
Hayes Madsen,
Rolling Stone,
13 Feb. 2025
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Never mind the stalking, cucking her husband, and bringing plague and endless death upon her.—
Alex Abad-Santos,
Vox,
31 Jan. 2025
Noun
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His back nine was particularly challenging as the weather conditions deteriorated, resulting in one bogey and no birdies.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
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Each hole is considered a Par 3, and scores are determined by where a shot lands: a hole in one earns one point; inside the circle is a birdie (2); on the green earns a par (3); and a ball landing off the green is a bogey (4).—
Candace Oehler,
Forbes,
24 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Bugaboo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugaboo. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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