bogeyman
noun
bo·gey·man
ˈbu̇-gē-ˌman 
ˈbō-,
ˈbü-,
ˈbu̇-gər-
variants
or less commonly bogyman
1
: a monstrous imaginary figure used in threatening children
2
: a terrifying or dreaded person or thing : bugbear
Examples of bogeyman in a Sentence
My aunt used to say to my sister and me, “The bogeyman will get you if you're bad.”
a politician who is the familiar bogeyman of conservatives
Recent Examples on the Web
Disney, taking advantage of that, created a somewhat memorable tale about the bogeyman.
—
Ew Staff, EW.com, 1 July 2024
Los Angeles has always been a magnet for those seeking fame, even if that means serving as a bogeyman for opportunistic pundits.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
The other bogeyman, Critical Race Theory, is traditionally defined as a graduate-school-level examination of how laws throughout U.S. history have enforced racial inequality.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 June 2024
There were ice-cream-truck bogeymen, refrigerated human hearts, coffins full of feces, and a villain indebted to George Méliès and the Smashing Pumpkins.
—Holden Seidlitz, The New Yorker, 10 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for bogeyman 
Ew Staff, EW.com, 1 July 2024
Los Angeles has always been a magnet for those seeking fame, even if that means serving as a bogeyman for opportunistic pundits.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
The other bogeyman, Critical Race Theory, is traditionally defined as a graduate-school-level examination of how laws throughout U.S. history have enforced racial inequality.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 June 2024
There were ice-cream-truck bogeymen, refrigerated human hearts, coffins full of feces, and a villain indebted to George Méliès and the Smashing Pumpkins.
—Holden Seidlitz, The New Yorker, 10 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for bogeyman
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bogeyman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Bogeyman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bogeyman. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bogeyman
noun
bo·gey·man
ˈbu̇g-ē-ˌman
ˈbō-gē-
ˈbō-gē-
ˈbü-gē-
1
: an imaginary monster used in threatening children
2
: a terrifying or dreaded person or thing
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