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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Anyone who has broken in a pair of sandals knows the dread of a blister after a day of walking, but that’s not an issue with this pair.—
Jacqueline Tempera,
People.com,
16 July 2025
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As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
16 July 2025
Noun
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Thor: The Dark World' (2013) Chris Hemsworth’s thunder god has a sequel that’s a blender of familiar fantasy tropes as Thor and love interest Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) have to deal with a dark elf with an Infinity Stone.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
25 July 2025
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In contrast, Tolkien imagined elves as elegant and refined, while humans had the capacity to be as barbaric as orcs, or as noble as elves.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
Noun
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In fact, Bolg is the name of a goblin prince from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.—
Margherita Bassi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
20 June 2025
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Brown and Kountz play Luna and Marvin, a couple who moves to Evergreen Lane with a passion for goblins and ghouls that inspires the whole neighborhood to go all in.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 June 2025
Noun
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Another, Dark Universe, is home to classic ogres like Frankenstein’s monster.—
Todd Anderson,
New York Times,
5 Apr. 2025
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In rag-tag combos of color and print, a Gen Z ogre would love their pleated skirts with perforated belts, as well as the fun and functional carabiners studded with butterfly motifs and acid-colored charms.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
28 Feb. 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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Defense spending has been a thorny subject for NATO members for years, and a persistent bugbear for Trump.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
5 June 2025
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Under his leadership, Michigan had a robust Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program — a bugbear for Republicans — until announcing in March that it would be dismantled.—
Philissa Cramer,
Sun Sentinel,
4 June 2025
Noun
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Sami Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor who is associated with the Gaza Tribunal, admitted to conspiring to aid the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group in 2006.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
12 July 2025
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Gaza would be razed, much like Dresden or Hiroshima, in order to eliminate the danger of terror attacks on Israel coming from Gaza.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 July 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Hobgoblin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobgoblin. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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