homophobia

American  

[hoh-muh-foh-bee-uh] / ˌhoʊ məˈfoʊ bi ə /

noun

1. an aversion or hostility to, disdain for, or fear of gay sexual orientation or gay people.

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homophobia British  

/ ˌhəʊməʊˈfəʊbɪə /

noun

1. intense hatred or fear of homosexuals or homosexuality

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Sensitive Note

The combining form -phobia is used in some words that describe intolerance toward a group of people as defined by nationality, ancestry, sexual identity or orientation, creed, or race: homophobia , Islamophobia , transphobia . Though there is an element of fear when interacting with the unknown or the Other, words in this category are not primarily about anxiety; rather, these terms are commonly associated with hatred or disgust. The use of -phobia words to indicate hostility toward groups of people is therefore frequently criticized. Advocates and activists representing these groups recommend using the prefix anti- instead, in words such as antigay , anti-Islam , antitrans .

Other Word Forms

• homophobe noun
• homophobic adjective

Etymology

Origin of homophobia

First recorded in 1960–65; homo(sexual) + -phobia; popularized by the American psychologist George Weinberg (1929–2017); an earlier sense “fear of men or humankind” was first recorded in the 1920s, from Latin homō “man, human being” + -phobia

Example Sentences

This follows Kick It Out - which works to fight racism, sexism and homophobia in football - receiving the highest number of reports of discrimination, external last season.

From BBC

Murray still remembers how difficult it was to be trapped, and now realises he had been grappling with internalised homophobia.

From BBC

Hertfordshire Police said "the investigating officer leading the reinvestigation did not identify discrimination or homophobia within the investigation".

From BBC

The author says she wrote her books "to work out a lot of my feelings about rampant misogyny, homophobia, violence" in the sport of which she had been a life-long fan.

From BBC

"For example, a tweet being shared to allege homophobia on my part was actually ridiculing homophobia," he said.

From BBC