bugbear

/ˈbʌɡbeə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈbʌɡber/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈbəg-ˌber How to pronounce bugbear (audio)/ (ame, mw)

bugbear — noun

  • bugbearsingular
  • bugbearsplural

1. a problem that keeps bothering or worrying someone, especially one that returns

1.名詞C1
釋義

a problem that keeps bothering or worrying someone, especially one that returns again and again.

例句

Late parking fees are still my biggest bugbear when I visit downtown.

my biggest bugbear

For Nadia, group photos are a bugbear because she always blinks.

a bugbear because + clause

同義詞
  • pet peeve

    more informal and often used for something personally annoying

  • nuisance

    broader word for something troublesome, without the repeating personal edge

  • headache

    informal and often used for a practical problem that causes stress

文法句型

a bugbear for + person/group

someone's + bugbear

a major bugbear in + situation

用法筆記

Often appears with a possessive or with 'for' to name the person or group that keeps suffering from the problem. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is figurative and refers to an issue, not a creature.

常見錯誤

❌Parking fees are my bugbear problem.
✅Parking fees are my biggest bugbear.
💡'bugbear' already names the troublesome problem, so an extra noun is unnecessary.

2. a pretend creature from old stories that people mention to make children afraid.

2.名詞C2
釋義

a pretend creature from old stories that people mention to make children afraid.

例句

The nurse joked about a bugbear hiding under the bed to calm Leo.

a bugbear hiding under + place

In the old tale, a bugbear waits outside the cave at dusk.

a bugbear in + tale

同義詞
  • bogeyman

    more familiar modern word for an invented figure used to scare children

  • goblin

    a broader story creature and not always used mainly for scaring children

  • monster

    general word that does not specifically suggest an old warning tale

文法句型

a bugbear in + story/tale

like a bugbear

bugbear + hiding/waiting + place

用法筆記

This is an old story word and usually appears in tales, jokes, or comparisons rather than in ordinary modern description. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 names the imagined monster itself.