Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun bugbear

2 senses of bugbear

Sense 1
bogeyman, bugbear, bugaboo, boogeyman, booger -- (an imaginary monster used to frighten children)
       => monster -- (an imaginary creature usually having various human and animal parts)

Sense 2
bugbear, hobgoblin -- (an object of dread or apprehension; "Germany was always a bugbear for France"; "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"--Ralph Waldo Emerson)
       => object -- (the focus of cognitions or feelings; "objects of thought"; "the object of my affection")