nyctophobia

[nik-tuh-foh-bee-uh]

noun

Psychiatry.

1. an irrational or disproportionate fear of night or nighttime darkness.

   My nyctophobia is debilitating during the short days and long nights of winter.

nyctophobia

/ ˌnɪktəʊˈfəʊbɪə /

noun

1. psychiatry an abnormal dread of night or darkness

Other Word Forms

• nyctophobic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nyctophobia¹

First recorded in 1890–95; nycto- + -phobia

Word History and Origins

Origin of nyctophobia¹

nyct-, from Greek nukt-, nux night + _-phobia

Example Sentences

It sometimes presents itself with related phobias, including phasmophobia, the fear of ghosts; wiccaphobia, the fear of witchcraft; and nyctophobia, the fear of darkness.

From Forbes