Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But rats are also "neophobic" or fearful of new things, according to Professor Steven Belmain, a professor of ecology at the University of Greenwich.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025

Rats are neophobic – they avoid what they don’t know.

From The Guardian • Sep. 20, 2016

The researchers then released the tagged birds back into the wild and continued monitoring their neophobic and exploratory tendencies by changing bowl colors at existing feeding stations and adding new bird feeders elsewhere.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2010