bête noire

noun

ˌbet-ˈnwär How to pronounce bête noire (audio)
Definition of bête noirenext
1
as in dread
something or someone that causes fear or dread especially without reason doing my own tax return is the bête noire that haunts me every April

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in enemy
something or someone that is hated in that organization's view, society's number one bête noire should be the drunk driver of a motor vehicle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 bête noire David Warner, like his bete noire Broad, was involved in 2023 but has retired since. — Darren Richman, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025 There’s plenty of satisfying comic justice to come when Salieri is left alone to his own devices — and to spend a lot of climactic alone time with the audience — long after his bete noire is gone. — Chris Willman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bête noire
  1. dread
  2. enemy
  3. hate
  4. abhorrence
  5. antipathy
  6. nuisance
  7. abomination
  8. anathema
Noun
  • Unlike the 1960 film, where Mizuno narrates his own tragedy, Yeon and Katayama’s new Vapor is an object of mystery and dread rather than the story’s protagonist.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 6 July 2026
  • Without a sense of dread and horror, From just becomes a kind of supernatural soap opera where everyone is angry at one another all the time.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of dread
Noun
  • His death in an enemy attack plays into a powerful Shi'ite tradition of martyrdom and mourning, in which processions of flagellants beat their chests or backs.
    — Parisa Hafezi, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • The day for battle is near, many of our enemies are arming themselves.
    — Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026
Definition of enemy
Noun
  • The book beautifully captures the delicate line between love and hate, between victimhood and complicity.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026
  • Unfortunately, this can lead to some individuals lashing out in response to their own insecurities, hate and low bar of aptitude, which is confirmed by the tenor of the attacks.
    — Jallicia Jolly, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of hate
Noun
  • But your abhorrence of the outcomes of particular elections doesn’t justify your saying, Well, the hell with that.
    — Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
  • When human decency and basic civility fall victim to partisanship and ideology, and abhorrence of violence becomes tempered by political aims, monstrosities and tyrannies become possible.
    — Michael Bloomberg, Twin Cities, 24 Sep. 2025
Definition of abhorrence
Noun
  • The other is that Republicans’ antipathy towards vote-by-mail is waning.
    — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 1 June 2026
  • Alexander Kazakov | Afp | Getty Images That Russia and China are seen as ideologically aligned on many geopolitical issues, with each sharing a traditional antipathy and distrust towards the West, and Washington.
    — Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 20 May 2026
Definition of antipathy
Noun
  • And to add insult to social and cultural injury, the new policies also present a logistical nuisance.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026
  • In New York, night clubs were sometimes regarded as a civic nuisance; one obstacle was the city’s cabaret law, from 1926, which required bars to obtain a special permit if patrons were dancing and was not fully repealed until 2017.
    — Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
Definition of nuisance
Noun
  • Qatar 2022 was an abomination in so many ways, a World Cup staged in a nation roughly the size of Connecticut, with an appalling human rights record, but the football was frequently thrilling.
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 13 June 2026
  • Yes, the first season of Big Brother was an abomination.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
Definition of abomination
Noun
  • The late founder’s associations with people who collaborated with France’s Nazi occupiers in World II and his multiple hate-speech convictions, including Holocaust denial, made the National Front anathema to many voters.
    — Sylvie Corbet, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
  • This concentration of capital is anathema to a thriving democracy.
    — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026
Definition of anathema

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Cite this Entry

“Bête noire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/b%C3%AAte%20noire. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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