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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. An ugly, mischievous elf or goblin.
  2. n. An object or a source of fear, dread, or harassment; a bugbear: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” ( Ralph Waldo Emerson).

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A mischievous imp or sprite; an alarming apparition; hence, something that causes fear or disquiet.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A small, ugly goblin that makes trouble for humans
  2. n. A source of dread, fear or apprehension; a bugbear.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A frightful goblin; an imp; a bugaboo; also, a name formerly given to the household spirit, Robin Goodfellow.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. (folklore) a small grotesque supernatural creature that makes trouble for human beings
  2. n. an object of dread or apprehension

Examples

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Comments

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  • pterodactyl You and me both, fer_k. Such a great comic! Apr 7, 2008

  • fer_k I can't read this word without remembering Order of the stick. Sep 29, 2007

  • john "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
    - Ralph Waldo Emerson Sep 24, 2007

  • trivet Such a glorious word - thanks, yarb! Sep 24, 2007

‘hobgoblin’ has been looked up 1759 times, loved by 8 people, added to 45 lists, commented on 4 times, and has a Scrabble score of 17.