Hobgoblin

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Hobgoblin \Hob"gob`lin\, n. [See 2d Hob, and {Goblin}.]
     A frightful goblin; an imp; a bugaboo; also, a name formerly
     given to the household spirit, Robin Goodfellow. --Macaulay.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:



  hobgoblin
       n 1: (folklore) a small grotesque supernatural creature that
            makes trouble for human beings [syn: {goblin}, {hob}]
       2: an object of dread or apprehension; "Germany was always a
          bugbear for France"; "A foolish consistency is the
          hobgoblin of little minds"--Ralph Waldo Emerson [syn: {bugbear}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  31 Moby Thesaurus words for "hobgoblin":
     Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf-man, bogey, bogeyman, bugaboo, bugbear,
     fee-faw-fum, frightener, ghost, ghoul, goblin, hob, holy terror,
     horror, incubus, monster, nightmare, ogre, ogress, ouphe, phantom,
     revenant, scarebabe, scarecrow, scarer, specter, succubus, terror,
     vampire, werewolf