What is another word for hobgoblin?

Pronunciation: [hˈɒbɡəblˌɪn] (IPA)

Hobgoblin is a word that has been used for centuries to describe a mischievous or malevolent spirit. While the term hobgoblin is often associated with fairy tales and mythology, there are plenty of other words that can be used as synonyms. For instance, fright, specter, and phantom can all be used to describe a hobgoblin. Depending on the context, one might also use the words imp, sprite, or demon. Other possible synonyms include poltergeist, bogeyman, or gremlin. Regardless of the specific word used, the concept remains the same: a hobgoblin is a being that is often feared and always up to no good.

Synonyms for Hobgoblin:

What are the hypernyms for Hobgoblin?

A hypernym is a word with a broad meaning that encompasses more specific words called hyponyms.

Usage examples for Hobgoblin

The present Mrs. Tibbets, at the time of her courtship, had a number of these stories told her by the country gossips; and when married, was a little fearful about living in a house where such a hobgoblin was said to haunt: Jack, however, who has always treated this story with great contempt, assured her that there was no spirit kept about his house that he could not at any time lay in the Red Sea with one flourish of his cudgel.
"Bracebridge Hall, or The Humorists"
Washington Irving
The little man has long been gathering together all the hobgoblin tales he could collect, illustrative of the superstitions of former times; and he is in a complete fever lest this formidable rival should take the field before him.
"Bracebridge Hall, or The Humorists"
Washington Irving
When I was a boy there was very much said, too, about corpse-candles and phantom funerals, and especially about the Bwganod, plural of Bwgan, meaning a sprite, ghost, hobgoblin, or spectre.
"The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries"
W. Y. Evans Wentz

Famous quotes with Hobgoblin

  • A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesman and philosophers and divines.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • As immigration trends suggest, anti-Americanism is not deeply rooted as a popular prejudice. In Europe, anti-Americanism is much more a hobgoblin of the political, cultural, and religious elites. According to a SOFRES survey of May 2000, only 10 percent of French feel dislike for the U.S. After September 11, according to another poll, 52 percent of French people interviewed said they had always felt warmly toward the U.S., against 32 percent who said the opposite. Historian Michel Winock concludes that "anti-Americanism is not an attitude of the average French person; it is typical of a certain segment of the elites."
    Jean-François Revel
  • A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — 'Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson

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