thanatophobia

American  

[than-uh-tuh-foh-bee-uh] / ˌθæn ə təˈfoʊ bi ə /

noun

Psychiatry.

1. an irrational or disproportionate fear of death, especially one's own.

   My daughter’s thanatophobia grew during high school—while many teens feel invincible, she was terror-stricken and obsessed with her mortality.

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Other Word Forms

• thanatophobic adjective

Etymology

Origin of thanatophobia

First recorded in 1855–60; thanato- + -phobia

Example Sentences

Necrophobia and thanatophobia are allied maladies, one being the fear of dead bodies and the other the fear of death itself.

From Project Gutenberg