Meaning

3 senses

  1. An ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity.

  2. A source of dread; resentment; or irritation.

    an object of dread or apprehension

  3. A generic creature, often described as a large goblin, meant to inspire fear in children.

    Schrat

Examples

2 sentences

  1. The reliance on a data connection to function is a big bugbear.

    kiryopi · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. Untidiness was his bugbear.

    ruНеопрятность была его проблемой. — odexed

    AlanF_US · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

2 languages
Deutsch
By meaning 1
imaginary creature:

Origin

From obsolete meaning of bug (“something terrifying”) + bear. See Middle English bugge, mo

From obsolete meaning of bug (“something terrifying”) + bear. See Middle English bugge, modern bogey.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: bugbears

Synonyms

11 synonyms
pet peeveanathemaantipathybête noirebogeymanbogeybug-a-boobugaboo
Close in meaning
  • an object of dread or apprehension:hobgoblin
  • an imaginary monster used to frighten children:bogeymanbugabooboogeymanbooger

Word family

1 related words
Derivedbugbearish

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
buffoonC1bugA2buggerbuggy

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

bugbear — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto