Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of bugbear

8 similar words

Another word for bugbear is anathema. Other synonyms of bugbear are antipathy and bogeyman.

Synonyms and similar words for bugbear

nounAn ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity.

  • pet peeveSomething that is personally annoying; a personal dislike.

nounA source of dread; resentment; or irritation.

  • anathemaSomething which is vehemently disliked by somebody.
  • antipathyA person or thing that one has a (deep) feeling of dislike or repugnance towards; an anathema, a bête noire, a bugbear.
  • bête noireSomeone or something that is unbearable and so particularly avoided or disliked; the bane of someone's existence; an...

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

Meaning of bugbear

  1. noun An ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity.
  2. noun A source of dread; resentment; or irritation.
  3. noun A generic creature, often described as a large goblin, meant to inspire fear in children.

Full definition of bugbear

bugbear in other languages

Questions about synonyms of bugbear

What is another word for bugbear?
Bugbear has 8 synonyms on Word.ws, such as anathema, antipathy and bogeyman.
What does bugbear mean?
Bugbear means an ongoing problem; a recurring obstacle or adversity.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: bugbear (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of bugbear.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/bugbear. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.