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View synonyms for phobia

phobia

1

[ foh-bee-uh ]

noun

  1. an intense, persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, situation, or person that manifests in physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, rapid heartbeat, or shortness of breath, and that motivates avoidance behavior.
  2. an aversion toward, dislike of, or disrespect for a thing, idea, person, or group.


-phobia

2
  1. a combining form meaning “fear,” occurring in loanwords from Greek ( hydrophobia ); on this model, used in the names of anxiety disorders that have the general sense “dread of, aversion toward” that specified by the initial element ( agoraphobia ); on the same model, used in words that name hostility toward a thing or idea, or a specific group, with the sense “antipathy toward or dislike of, disrespect or disdain for” the object or people specified by the initial element ( technophobia ; xenophobia ).

-phobia

1

combining form

  1. indicating an extreme abnormal fear of or aversion to

    claustrophobia

    acrophobia

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


phobia

2

/ ˈfəʊbɪə /

noun

  1. psychiatry an abnormal intense and irrational fear of a given situation, organism, or object
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

phobia

  1. An extreme and often unreasonable fear of some object, concept, situation, or person.


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Derived Forms

  • -phobic, combining_form:in_adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of phobia1

First recorded in 1780–90; extracted from nouns ending in -phobia

Origin of phobia2

From Latin, from Greek, equivalent to -phob(os) “panic fear” + -ia noun suffix; -phobe, -ia
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Word History and Origins

Origin of phobia1

via Latin from Greek, from phobos fear

Origin of phobia2

C19: from Greek phobos fear
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Example Sentences

The idea of “research” settings in our popular culture tap into this phobia.

Contemporary society has gifted us with a phobia potentially as strong as acrophobia or the fear of flying: smartphone anxiety.

The guy who took the cake suffered from a Vagina Dentata phobia, with attendant castration anxiety.

So there you have it: another outbreak fueled by irrational vaccine phobia.

He discusses his strange phobia, what makes him cry, and what he and Gore Vidal have in common.

Maybe he had forced himself to go with her and the power of his lifelong phobia had wiped it from his memory.

No matter how much overlay you pile on top of such a phobia to suppress it, it will continue to haunt you.

Unless the fear of sleeplessness becomes a full grown phobia, no anxiety need be felt.

Nervous breakdowns are increasing as a result of the American worry phobia.

Anton Varcek won't be interested, one way or another; he has what amounts to a pathological phobia about firearms of any sort.

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Words That Use -phobia

What does -phobia mean?

The combining form -phobia is used like a suffix meaning “fear.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in psychology and biology.

The form -phobia comes from Greek phóbos, meaning “fear” or “panic.” The Latin translation is timor, “fear,” which is the source of words such as timid and timorous.

What are variants of –phobia?

While -phobia doesn’t have any variants, it is related to two other combining forms: -phobic and -phobe. Want to know more? Check out our Words that Use articles for each form.

Examples of -phobia

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -phobia is agoraphobia, “an irrational or disproportionate fear of being in crowds, public places, or open areas.”

The agora- part of the word comes from Greek agorā́, meaning “assembly” or “marketplace.” And -phobia means “fear,” as we’ve seen. So, agoraphobia literally translates to “fear of the marketplace.”

What are some words that use the combining form –phobia?

What are some other forms that -phobia may be commonly confused with?

Break it down!

The combining form hydro- means “water.” With this in mind, what does the scientific term hydrophobia mean in everyday language?

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