misophonia

American  

[mees-oh-foh-nee-uh] / mis oʊˈfoʊ ni ə /

noun

1. Psychiatry. a condition characterized by extreme sensitivity and reactivity to specific, typically repetitive and relatively soft sounds, as breathing, chewing, swallowing, clicking, etc..

   In patients with misophonia, an auditory stimulus provoked an immediate physical reaction, with anger, disgust, and sometimes even impulsive aggression.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misophonic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of misophonia

miso- ( def. ) + Greek -phōnia ( see -phony ( def. )); coined by audiologists Pawel J. and Margaret M. Jastreboff in 2001

Example Sentences

She says her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging".

From BBC • Dec. 23, 2025

Lottie has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".

From BBC • Dec. 23, 2025

I’m not sure if you’re dealing with misophonia or if you’re just otherwise sensitive to sounds but I’m not sure there’s much you can do about this.

From New York Times • May 14, 2023

Some people have a condition called misophonia, which triggers intense reactions to certain sounds.

From The Verge • Nov. 9, 2021

The brain's auditory cortex, which processes sound, reacted similarly in subjects with and without misophonia.

From Scientific American • Sep. 8, 2021