bête noire

English

Etymology

Borrowing from French bête noire (literally “black beast”).

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /beɪtˈnwɑː/
• (GenAm) IPA: /bɛt ˈnwɑɹ/

Noun

bête noire (plural bêtes noires)

1. An anathema; someone or something which is particularly disliked or avoided; an object of aversion, the bane of one’s existence.

Translations

an anathema

• Catalan: bèstia negra (ca) f
• Danish: banemand (da)
• French: bête noire (fr) f
• Galician: besta negra (gl) f
• Hebrew: כבשה שחורה (he) (Kivsá Shxorá) m and f

• Manx: ard-ghwoaieid (gv) f
• Portuguese: besta negra (pt) f
• Spanish: bestia negra (es) f
• Swedish: vildsvin (sv) n, fasa (sv) c, avsky (sv) c

See also

• bugbear