1
as in fairy
an imaginary being usually having a small human form and magical powers
in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck is a hobgoblin who plays pranks such as spoiling milk and tripping old ladies
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2
as in dread
something or someone that causes fear or dread especially without reason
the fear of success and the pressures that come with it can be more of a hobgoblin than the possibility of failure
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Recent Examples of hobgoblin
Consistency is the hobgoblin of large language models.
—
Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2023
While the community might celebrate the hobgoblin’s induction into Detroit culture, Detroiters must always keep watch for when the Nain Rouge returns and provokes disaster.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 8 Aug. 2023
The narrative unfolds communally around a table, with plenty of backtracking, retconning, and joking—and avoiding the small-minded hobgoblins of consistency and rules-lawyering.
—Ethan Gilsdorf, WIRED, 27 June 2023
Powell & Co are now eyeing consumer service prices as the latest hobgoblin to hound.
—Gary Drenik, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2023
While the community might celebrate the hobgoblin’s induction into Detroit culture, Detroiters must always keep watch for when the Nain Rouge returns and provokes disaster.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 8 Aug. 2023
The narrative unfolds communally around a table, with plenty of backtracking, retconning, and joking—and avoiding the small-minded hobgoblins of consistency and rules-lawyering.
—Ethan Gilsdorf, WIRED, 27 June 2023
Powell & Co are now eyeing consumer service prices as the latest hobgoblin to hound.
—Gary Drenik, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobgoblin
Noun
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At night, the power was often cut, and guards would scream threats into the darkness, heightening dread and disorientation.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
20 May 2025
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Anxiety is a feeling of fear and dread, often triggered by stressful situations, uncertainty, and perceived threats.12 People whose anxiety does not go away or gets worse over time may have an anxiety disorder.—
Emmanuella Ogbonna,
Health,
19 May 2025
Noun
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In this fiction, the Crusades were not waged against Moors, but against elves – a race said to devour the flesh of humans, among other atrocities that are neither confirmed nor denied by the end of the story.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
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After a season filled with villainous elves, the resurrection of Kandy Muse's iconically hideous pockets look, and budding relationships in the Werk Room (and the bedroom), RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 crowned a winner.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 Apr. 2025
Noun
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From its protrusible jaw to its ability to hunt in every environment, the goblin shark exemplifies adaptation to the extremes.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
30 Dec. 2024
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Thousands of visitors showed up dressed as their favorite characters from all parts of pop culture — superheroes and supervillains, wizards, elves, goblins, animals, Ghostbusters, Jedi and Sith, who all are calling Kansas City home base from Friday, March 21, to Sunday, March 23.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But the famous DreamWorks ogre almost had a very different voice, with Myers' fellow Saturday Night Live alum Chris Farley originally attached.—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
18 May 2025
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This greenish hue earned the fossil the nickname Fiona, like the ogre from Shrek.—
Discover Magazine,
Discover Magazine,
13 May 2025
Noun
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Tell me a little bit about the technical side of filming a dwarf and an elf together.—
Devan Coggan,
EW.com,
13 Oct. 2022
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Other new characters include Disa, the first female dwarf ever shown in the Lord of the Rings series.—
Ethan Millman,
Rolling Stone,
22 July 2022
Noun
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One of Trump’s longstanding bugbears has been America’s trade deficits with its neighbors and competitors including Canada, China, Mexico and the European Union.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2025
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Kuo also said the iPhone Fold, as it likely won’t be called, will address the biggest bugbear for folders: a too-visible crease in the internal display when it’s opened.—
David Phelan,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In the trailer, LAPD detective Mark Meachum (Ackles) is recruited to be part of an elite team tasked with preventing a large scale terror attack in Los Angeles.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
28 May 2025
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Hamas and other militant groups kidnapped 251 people from Israel during the October 7, 2023 terror attacks.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN Money,
28 May 2025
Noun
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For instance, people used to hang iron on their doors at night to keep faeries and demons out of their homes (talismans) and a knock on the door in the middle of the night was to be ignored, for surely some evil spirit was lurking outside.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
27 Nov. 2024
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The Unseelie Court is the bastion of malevolent faeries who harm humans for their amusement or to exact revenge.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
27 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Hobgoblin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobgoblin. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
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