hobgoblin

noun

ˈhäb-ˌgäb-lən How to pronounce hobgoblin (audio)
Definition of hobgoblinnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hobgoblin Sailing teaches us that being an honorable competitor is more important than being a top competitor because while every race is there to lose, luck is the omnipresent hobgoblin. — Conor Mastromarco, Baltimore Sun, 18 Nov. 2024 Gleeson’s Puck is a malevolent hobgoblin who serves as the royal jester to King Auberon of Faerie. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 2 July 2024 Sightings of the mythical Nain Rouge, a red hobgoblin or dwarf that appears on the eve of tragedy, date to Detroit's origin — and locals have reclaimed the spirit with an annual march to scare the demon away, according to tradition. — Detroit Free Press, 24 Mar. 2024 As Ralph Waldo Emerson might have said in an essay of the same name (and did), a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds; Tommy seems to feel his brain shrinking along with his life. — John Anderson, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2024 See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobgoblin
  1. fairy
  2. dread
  3. elf
  4. ogre
  5. goblin
  6. terror
  7. dwarf
  8. bugbear
Noun
  • Like everybody else on the planet, Tom Cruise certainly wouldn't mind having some of that fairy dust rub off on him.
    — Ashley Hume , Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The cost is $35 to $40 and includes all of the supplies needed to turn your child into a butterfly, a Star Wars ranger or a fairy princess.
    — Janet Kusterer, Baltimore Sun, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of fairy
Noun
  • Artificial is pointedly funnier than his other work, including a large comedic performance by Ike Barinholtz as Musk, even as an existential dread permeates.
    — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Audiences can expect natural richness, such as underwater images of glistening shellfish, to encounter ecological dread.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of dread
Noun
  • Guests to The Elf Experience will meet one of Santa’s helpers before entering Papa Elf’s storybook and heading to the North Pole to learn about the life of an elf.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
  • In the dark comedy Bad Santa, Thornton plays Willie, a miserable, heavy-drinking con man who dresses up as Santa with his elf sidekick (Tony Cox) to rob department stores on Christmas Eve.
    — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of elf
Noun
  • Pay homage to a statue of the Egyptian god Horus, whose headdress recalls Natalie Portman’s Queen Amidala, and a Hopi katsina doll of an ogre with the same beak as Jar Jar Binks.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Ella is a young woman cursed to obey all instructions whose quest for self-determination also turns her into an advocate for the kingdom’s oppressed elves and ogres.
    — Chris Bellamy, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of ogre
Noun
  • The magical ring that helped Bilbo escape the goblins had become an instrument of addiction and mass political control.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Two years ago, the Man City phenom appeared in a 90-second spot for the game that saw him get recruited to storm a castle teeming with goblins, dragons and impish skeletons.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of goblin
Noun
  • British authorities have linked the terror plot to Tehran, although Iran has denied involvement.
    — Azhar Sukri,Terri Cullen, CNBC, 4 Oct. 2026
  • That resonated for me because the war on terror did a tremendous amount of damage to people, and those people have suffered in silence.
    — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of terror
Noun
  • This led to the observation of 47 dwarf galaxies, of which only four had previously been discovered.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Consider growing a dwarf variety like Citrus japonica ‘Nagami’ that’s suitable for indoor growing.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of dwarf
Noun
  • Cuba’s communist regime has historically been a bugbear for the US, particularly for Republicans.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 19 July 2026
  • The heat and humidity during our test week brought me to my other bugbear with the C-HR.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 23 June 2026
Definition of bugbear

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Cite this Entry

“Hobgoblin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobgoblin. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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