bête noire

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/bɛtˈnwɑːr/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˌbeɪt ˈnwɑr, ˌbɛt/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(bāt′ nwär′; Fr. bet nwar′)


Inflections of 'bête noire' (n): npl: bêtes noires

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
bête noire /ˌbeɪt ˈnwɑr, ˌbɛt/USA pronunciation   n. [countable], pl. bêtes noires 
    /ˌbeɪt ˈnwɑrz, ˌbɛt/.USA pronunciation  
  1. Foreign Termsa person or thing that is very disliked or feared:The special writing test was the bête noire of students.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
bête noire  (bāt′ nwär′; Fr. bet nwar′),USA pronunciation pl. bêtes noires 
    (bāt′ nwärz′; Fr. bet nwar′).USA pronunciation 
  1. Foreign Termsa person or thing especially disliked or dreaded;
    bane;
    bugbear.
  • French: literally, black beast
  • 1835–45

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
bête noire French: /bɛt nwar/ n ( pl bêtes noires /bɛt nwar/)
  1. a person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads
Etymology: literally: black beast

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