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-phobia

Also ‑phobic and ‑phobe.

Extreme or irrational fear or dislike.

Greek phobia, fear or horror.

A large number of words using this ending have been created in modern psychiatry and related fields. It is possibly also the most fecund in the language for humorous invention, as in arachibutyrophobia, fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth (from the genus name of the peanut, Arachis, plus Latin butyrum, butter). See the list below for some common examples.

Related adjectives are formed in ‑phobic (claustrophobic, technophobic). Nouns in ‑phobe describe a person affected by the condition (arachnophobe, xenophobe).

For their opposites, see ‑phile.

Examples of words in -phobia
Word origins are from Greek unless otherwise stated.

acrophobia

heights

akros, tip or extremity

agoraphobia

open spaces

agora, marketplace

arachnophobia

spiders

arakhnē, spider

chemophobia

chemotherapy

see chemo‑

claustrophobia

enclosed spaces

Latin claustrum, a confined or shut-up space

computerphobia

computers or computing

English computer

cyberphobia

computers or technology

see cyber‑

homophobia

homosexuality and homosexual people

homos, same

hydrophobia

water, but especially rabies, whose sufferers typically experience great difficulty in swallowing

hudōr, water

Islamophobia

Islam or Muslims

English Islam

neophobia

the new

neos, new

phonophobia

sound or noises

phōnē, sound, voice

photophobia

extreme sensitivity to light

phōs, phōt‑, light

Russophobia

Russians or Russia

see Russo‑

technophobia

technology

see techno‑

triskaidekaphobia

the number 13

treiskaideka, thirteen

xenophobia

strangers

xenos, stranger

Copyright © Michael Quinion 2008–. All rights reserved. Your comments are very welcome.