hobgoblin

/hɒbˈɡɒb.lɪn/US/hɑbˈɡɑb.lɪn/

hobgoblin noun: a small, ugly goblin that makes trouble for humans.

Noun

hobgoblin (plural hobgoblins)

A small, ugly goblin that makes trouble for humans.
- They were, like their northern kindred, divided into two classes: the rural Elves, inhabiting the woods, fields, mountains, and caverns; and the domestic or house-spirits, called Hobgoblins and Robin Goodfellows.1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 104
- A M. Berbiguier lately published an elaborate work, in three huge volumes, in which he demonstrated the existence of hobgoblins, described the proper manner of capturing and securing them, and took credit to himself for his zeal for the benefit of mankind, in allowing no day to pass without...1837, Albany Fonblanque, England Under Seven Administrations, volume 1, page 98
(broadly, figuratively) A source of dread, fear or apprehension; a bugbear.
- A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.1841, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance”, in Essays: First Series
- Under "Fallacies of Danger," then, is listed the subhead of "The Hobgoblin Argument, or, No Innovation, in which the hobgoblin in question is anarchy; which tremendous spectre has for its forerunner the monster innovation." A hot button like this would presumably elicit a visceral response even...2004, James Mulvihill, Upstart Talents: Rhetoric and the Career of Reason in English Romantic Disccourse 1790-1820, page 55

மண்ணை, குட்டிச்சாத்தான், குறளி, பூச்சாண்டி

غول

imp, goblin, sprite: വേതാളം, കൂളി, ദുർഭൂതം, ചാത്തൻ, കുറുഞ്ചാത്തൻ, കുട്ടിച്ചാത്തൻ

ತುಂಟುದೆವ್ವ, ಮರಿ ಪಿಶಾಚಿ, ಪಿಳ್ಳೆದೆವ್ವ, ಪುಟ್ಟ ಪಿಶಾಚಿ, ಗುಮ್ಮ, ಕಲ್ಪಿತಭೀತಿ

Berbiguier's manner of catching hobgoblins nor in the existence of hobgoblins did not scruple to say that M.1837, Albany Fonblanque, England Under Seven Administrations, volume 1, page 98:
The eyes blinked out and he heard a faint grunt, followed by the sounds of the Hobgoblin scrambling further back into the tunnel, away from the faint sunlight and the Ur'hunglav's domain.2005, Scott Harper, Winter's Rite, page 142:
The monster goes unrecognized because he looks like a harmless, pudgy nobody rather than like a hobgoblin.2007, “Introduction: Phonoplay: Recasting Film Music”, in Daniel Goldmark, Lawrence Kramer, Richard D. Leppert, editors, Beyond the...
However, the public seems to have been able to retain much of its sense of alarm about internal attacks even when the al-Qaeda hobgoblin doesn't actually carry any out.2011, John Mueller, Mark G. Stewart, Terror, Security, and Money: Balancing the Risks, Benefits, and Costs of Homeland Security, page 190:

plural	hobgoblins

From hob (“elf”, from Hob, a variant of Rob, short for Robin Goodfellow, an elf in Germanic folklore) + goblin.

What does hobgoblin mean?: Hobgoblin means a small, ugly goblin that makes trouble for humans.
What is hobgoblin in Tamil?: Hobgoblin in Tamil is மண்ணை, குட்டிச்சாத்தான், குறளி. See Hobgoblin meaning in Tamil.
How do you use hobgoblin in a sentence?: Berbiguier's manner of catching hobgoblins nor in the existence of hobgoblins did not scruple to say that M.
What part of speech is hobgoblin?: Hobgoblin is a noun.
How do you pronounce hobgoblin?: Hobgoblin is pronounced /hɒbˈɡɒb.lɪn/ (UK).
What is the plural of hobgoblin?: The plural of hobgoblin is hobgoblins.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hobgoblin.wav.

Cite this entry: “hobgoblin.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hobgoblin. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.