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haphephobia

American

[haf-uh-foh-bee-uh] / ˌhæf əˈfoʊ bi ə /

noun

an extreme fear or dislike of touching or being touched.

Other Word Forms

haphephobic

adjective

Etymology

Origin of haphephobia

First recorded in 1890–95; from Greek haphḗ “a touch,” derivative of háptein “to grasp, sense, perceive” + -phobia

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.