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bogeyman

[boog-ee-man, boh-gee-, boo-] / ˈbʊg iˌmæn, ˈboʊ gi-, ˈbu- /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Several leaders were hoping to use Farage as a sort of bogeyman to encourage their own supporters out to vote, and to rally the tactical votes of those staunchly opposed to his party.

From BBC May 7, 2026

Both cast debt as a bogeyman turning capitalism into an extraction device that, left unchecked or unwisely channeled, can take everything from any of us.

From Salon May 4, 2026

When FDA rejections draw criticism, he uses “industry” as a bogeyman.

From The Wall Street Journal May 3, 2026

He embraced the role of migra bogeyman like a tween boy scarfing down a bowl of Warheads, always promising more deportations, more chaos, more more.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 27, 2026

Two carefully watches the bushes along the sidewalk for a lurking bogeyman or worse.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

But that angst can be projected onto bogeymen.

From Salon May 8, 2023

When I hear my students discuss these new tech bogeymen, I’m reminded of the mistakes we’ve made in critiquing the news media.

From Slate May 4, 2023

In unflattering media coverage, the bogeymen comparisons veer from the Grinch to the Hood, the bald-headed, bushy-eyebrowed baddie from 1960s puppet TV series.

From BBC Dec. 12, 2022

Both are worldly, well into middle age, and both sense the need to explore their own catacombs and confront the bogeymen within.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 27, 2022

Maureen, who was four and had a terrible fear of bogeymen, kept dreaming that intruders in Halloween masks were coming through the open doors to get us.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls




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