phobic

¹ American  

[foh-bik] / ˈfoʊ bɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to a phobia or phobias.

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noun

1. a person with a phobia.

-phobic ² American  

1. a combining form used to form adjectives corresponding to nouns ending in -phobe:

   acrophobic; photophobic.

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phobic British  

/ ˈfəʊbɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or arising from a phobia

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noun

1. a person suffering from a phobia

Usage

What does -phobic mean? The combining form -phobic is used like a suffix to create the adjective form of words ending in -phobe, a form that roughly means “someone with a fear.” In other words, -phobic means "of, relating to, or characteristic of something with a fear." It is often used in scientific terms, especially in psychology and biology.The form -phobic is made from a combination of two combining forms. The first is -phobe, from Greek phóbos, meaning "fear" or "panic." The second form is the suffix -ic. The suffix -ic ultimately comes from Greek -ikos, an ending used to form adjectives.What are variants of -phobic?While -phobic doesn’t have any variants, it is related to two other combining forms: -phobia and -phobe. Want to know more? Check out our Words that Use articles for each form.

Other Word Forms

• nonphobic adjective

Etymology

Origin of phobic¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; phob(ia) + -ic, or by abstraction from adjectives ending in -phobic

Origin of -phobic²

-phobe + -ic

Example Sentences

There’s one plus-size social influencer whose Instagram travel posts have kept the British tabs in business by lashing out against “fat phobic” critics.

From Los Angeles Times

"Hopefully overcoming that phobic response will allow somebody to feel much more empowered when they walk into a medical situation," he says.

From BBC

With hundreds of years of baseless myth to supply us, it’s no wonder as many as six percent of people are phobic of arachnids.

From National Geographic

As for not noticing someone’s phobic tendencies, remember: Having to get along to get by is a powerful incentive to keep our hostilities, our “stuff,” tucked away.

From Washington Post

Croft: There’s still some resistance from editors of a certain generation — to translation itself, to properly crediting and remunerating the translator — but I think people are less phobic than they once might have been.

From Los Angeles Times