germaphobe

American  

[jur-muh-fohb] / ˈdʒɜr məˌfoʊb /

Or germophobe

noun

1. a person who has an irrational or disproportionate fear of germs and contamination.

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Usage

What does the term germaphobe mean? A germaphobe, also spelled germophobe, is a person who is afraid of germs or preoccupied with cleanliness. Specifically, it can refer to a person who has an obsessive compulsion toward cleanliness to the point that their life is impacted by an urge to constantly clean their hands and living spaces. Germaphobes may or may not have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Other Word Forms

• germaphobia noun
• germaphobic adjective
• germophobia noun
• germophobic adjective

Etymology

Origin of germaphobe

First recorded in 1890–1900; germ ( def. ) + -a- connecting vowel + -phobe ( def. )

Example Sentences

They described James as a germaphobe and “nerdy,” a man who could pass for an engineer or computer programmer more easily than an industrial magnate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 11, 2025

"My mum's a germaphobe, so I wrote something the foyer in our house," she laughs, breaking into melody.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2023

It’s no surprise, then, that I grew up to be a germaphobe too.

From New York Times • May 5, 2022

Adrian considered himself a germaphobe and took every precaution short of getting the vaccine, Jauregui said.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2021

I wasn’t a germaphobe, but even without the warning, I didn’t want to “touch” anything.

From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben