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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hobgoblin
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
Consistency is the hobgoblin of large language models.
—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
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
Consistency is the hobgoblin of large language models.
—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for hobgoblin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobgoblin
Noun
-
It’s liberally dotted with the designer’s personal collection of art and antiques, but still manages to feel pared-back—as if a Scandinavian fairy came down and waved all the potential clutter away.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Everything feels more whimsical, more fairy-like, more nymph-coded, as if fashion itself is trying to mirror the romance of the natural world.—
Tiana Randall,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Noun
-
Brith, filled with a sudden dread, stands very still, watching it, and the dog, sensing something, emits a low growl.—
Maggie O’Farrell,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
Her smile in the fantasy is one of relief and clarity, which cuts so hard after watching the dread pile up before Leslie notices her.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
The new version will still have the traditional arrow counting down the days to the holiday but also will include moving elves who are helping prepare things for Christmas.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
30 May 2026
-
There’s also caviar and cookies and Christmas trees and Housewives and Bravolebrities, all surrounded by twink elves in Christmas G-strings.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
The fantasy comedy twisted the types of fairy tales that Disney was known for with cruder and sillier humor and centered a grumpy ogre journeying to save a princess.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
-
In recent weeks, social media users, especially on X, have been noticing increasing references to goblins, along with other fantasy creatures such as gremlins, ogres and trolls in ChatGPT’s answers to user queries.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
An odd couple—one a goblin squeezed into an improbable trench-coat onesie, a fedora, and high heels—promenades down a steep incline while other strollers come and go.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
OpenAI leaned into the curious habit, choosing to highlight the goblin-forbidding prompt in a tweet.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
LaBeouf’s campaign of terror ended when he was arrested for punching several people outside the Royal Street Inn & R Bar.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
-
The sheer terror of marathon training certainly kept me off cigarettes for a solid six months.—
Kimberly McCreight,
Time,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
For instance, Eilish is an animal lover with a pet dwarf hamster named Tomato Bisque Soup.—
Tiney Ricciardi,
Denver Post,
1 June 2026
-
Writer Steve Phillips’ investments in the race dwarfs spending by any other single donor.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
This has been one of its main bugbears for years, with several engine types experimented with.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Apr. 2026
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Timings, though, can often be a bugbear.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hobgoblin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobgoblin. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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