xenophobia
Americannoun
-
an aversion or hostility to, disdain for, or fear of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers.
Xenophobia and nationalism can be seen as a reaction to the rise of globalization.
-
fear or dislike of the customs, dress, etc., of people who are culturally different from oneself.
Learning a foreign language can help to overcome xenophobia.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of xenophobia
First recorded in 1890–95; xeno- “foreign, strange” + -phobia “fear”
Explanation
Getting a job as a greeter with the United Nations is probably not the best career option for someone who suffers from xenophobia, a fear of foreigners or strangers. Xenophobia has its roots in fear — literally. Phobia comes from the Greek word meaning "fear." Given that the fear in question is of strangers, it makes sense that xeno- comes from the Greek word for — you guessed it — "stranger, foreigner." In the case of xenophobia, the fear is irrational. Someone who is xenophobic might distrust a neighbor he's never met, or a sheikh who lives halfway around the world. Xenophobia is like racism, but instead of fearing or distrusting people because of the color of their skin, you fear or distrust them because of their nationality, or because they are — or seem — foreign to you.
Vocabulary lists containing xenophobia
100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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Phobia Fever
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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.
Anwar announced the repatriations in July, just days after the detention of more than 100 Rohingya asylum seekers in Kuala Lumpur amid rising xenophobia against refugees, particularly the Rohingyas in Malaysia.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
When I read it in high school, I wasn’t engaging with its undercurrents of racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, gender or sexuality in the way I do now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Previous waves of xenophobia were localized and universally condemned by politicians, said Loren Landau, a senior researcher with the African Centre for Migration & Society at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
He told South Africans there was "no space for xenophobia, racism, sexism, Afrophobia or any other forms of intolerance" in the country.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
In the near and paranoiac past of most countries in transition, terror-filled xenophobia was both a wise survival tactic and an indoctrinated instinct.
From After the Rain : how the West lost the East by Samuel Vaknin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
