Definition and List of phobias
The English suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe (from Greek φόβος phobos, "fear") occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, abnormal, unwarranted, persistent, or disabling fear as a mental disorder (e.g. agoraphobia), in chemistry to describe chemical aversions (e.g. hydrophobic), in biology to describe organisms that dislike certain conditions (e.g. acidophobia), and in medicine to describe hypersensitivity to a stimulus, usually sensory (e.g. photophobia). In common usage, they also form words that describe dislike or hatred of a particular thing or subject (e.g. homophobia). The suffix is antonymic to -phil-.A
- Ablutophobia – fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning
- Acousticophobia – fear of noise – a branch of phonophobia
- Acrophobia – fear of heights
- Aerophobia - fear of flying
- Agoraphobia – fear of open places
- Agrizoophobia – fear of wild animals, a branch of zoophobia
- Agyrophobia – the irrational fear that crossing streets will cause bodily harm to oneself, even if no actual threat is posed.
- Aibohphobia - fear of palindromes; words, phrases, numbers or other sequence of characters which can be read the same backward or forward
- Aichmophobia – fear of sharp or pointed objects (such as a needle or knife)
- Ailurophobia – fear of cats
- Algophobia – fear of pain
- Amychophobia – fear of being scratched
- Androphobia - fear of adult men
- Anthropophobia – fear of people or the company of people, a form of social phobia
- Aquaphobia – fear of water. Distinct from hydrophobia, a scientific property that makes chemicals averse to interaction with water, as well as an archaic name for rabies
- Arachnophobia – fear of spiders
- Astraphobia – fear of thunder and lightning
- Autophobia – fear of isolation
- Aviophobia, aviatophobia – fear of flying
B
- Barophobia – fear of gravity – there are two forms: fear of being crushed by gravity's pressure when it becomes too great, or fear that gravity will disappear causing everything and everyone to simply float away – also, fear of being overweight
- Basophobia (also "basiphobia") – fear associated with astasia-abasia (fear of walking/standing erect) and a fear of falling
- Blood-injection-injury type phobia – a DSM-IV subtype of specific phobias
C
- Chemophobia – fear of chemicals
- Chiroptophobia – fear of bats
- Chlorophobia – fear of the color green
- Chromophobia, chromatophobia – fear of colors
- Chronophobia – fear of time and time moving forward
- Chrysophobia – fear of the color orange
- Cibophobia, sitophobia – aversion to food, synonymous to anorexia nervosa
- Claustrophobia – fear of having no escape and being closed in
- Cleithrophobia – fear of being trapped
- Coimetrophobia – fear of cemeteries
- Colorphobia – fear or a strong aversion towards a particular color
- Coprophobia – fear of feces or defecation
- Coulrophobia – fear of clowns (not restricted to evil clowns)
- Cyanophobia – fear of the color blue
- Cyberphobia – fear of or aversion to computers and of learning new technologies
- Cynophobia – fear of dogs
D
- Decidophobia – fear of making decisions
- Demonophobia, daemonophobia – fear of demons
- Dendrophobia – see hylophobia
- Dentophobia, odontophobia – fear of dentists and dental procedures
- Dysmorphophobia, or body dysmorphic disorder – a phobic obsession with a real or imaginary body defect
E
- Eurotophobia – fear of female genitals
- Eleutherophobia – fear of freedom
- Emetophobia – fear of vomiting
- Enochlophobia – fear of crowds
- Ephebiphobia – fear of youth; inaccurate, exaggerated and sensational characterization of young people
- Ergophobia, ergasiophobia – fear of work or functioning, or a surgeon's fear of operating
- Erotophobia – fear of sexual love or sexual abuse
- Erythrophobia, erytophobia, ereuthophobia – fear of the color red, or fear of blushing
F
- Frigophobia – fear of becoming too cold
G
- Gamophobia – fear of cohabitation, marriage or nuptials
- Gelotophobia – fear of being laughed at
- Gephyrophobia – fear of bridges
- Genophobia, coitophobia – fear of sexual intercourse
- Gerascophobia – fear of growing old or aging
- Gerontophobia – fear of growing old, or a hatred or fear of the elderly
- Globophobia – fear of balloons
- Glossophobia – fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak
- Gymnophobia – fear of nudity
- Gynophobia – fear of women
H
- Halitophobia – fear of bad breath
- Haphephobia – fear of being touched
- Harpaxophobia – fear of being robbed
- Hedonophobia – fear of obtaining pleasure
- Heliophobia – fear of the sun or sunlight
- Hemophobia, haemophobia – fear of blood
- Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – fear of the number 666
- Hoplophobia – fear of firearms
- Hylophobia, dendrophobia – fear of trees, forests or wood
- Hypnophobia, somniphobia – fear of sleep
I
- Ichthyophobia – fear of fish, including fear of eating fish, or fear of dead fish
L
- Lilapsophobia – fear of tornadoes or hurricanes
M
- Mechanophobia – fear of machines
- Melanophobia – fear of the color black
- Melissophobia, apiphobia – fear of bees
- Monophobia – fear of being alone or isolated or of one's self
- Musophobia, murophobia, suriphobia – fear of mice or rats
- Myrmecophobia – fear of ants
- Mysophobia – fear of germs, contamination or dirt
N
- Necrophobia – fear of death or the dead
- Neophobia, cainophobia, cainotophobia, centophobia, kainolophobia, kainophobia, metathesiophobia, prosophobia – fear of newness, novelty, change or progress
- Nomophobia – fear of being out of mobile phone contact
- Nosocomephobia – fear of hospitals
- Nosophobia – fear of contracting a disease
- Nostophobia, ecophobia – fear of returning home
- Numerophobia, fear of numbers
- Nyctophobia, achluophobia, lygophobia, scotophobia – fear of darkness
O
- Oikophobia – fear of home surroundings and household appliances
- Oneirophobia – fear of dreams
- Ophthalmophobia – fear of being stared at
- Osmophobia, olfactophobia – fear of odors
P
- Panphobia – fear of everything or constant fear of an unknown cause
- Pediophobia – fear of dolls
- Pedophobia – fear of children
- Phagophobia – fear of swallowing
- Phallophobia – fear of erections
- Pharmacophobia – fear of medications
- Phasmophobia – fear of ghosts or phantoms
- Philophobia – fear of love
- Phobophobia – fear of fear itself or of having a phobia
- Phonophobia – fear of loud sounds or voices
- Pogonophobia – fear of beards
- Pornophobia – fear of pornography
- Pupaphobia – fear of puppets
- Pyrophobia – fear of fire
R
- Radiophobia – fear of radioactivity or X-rays
S
- Scopophobia – fear of being looked at or stared at
- Sexophobia – fear of sexual organs or sexual activities
- Siderodromophobia – fear of trains or railroads
- Sociophobia – fear of people or social situations
- Spectrophobia – fear of mirrors
- Stasiphobia – fear of standing or walking
T
- Taphophobia, taphephobia – fear of the grave, or fear of being placed in a grave while still alive
- Technophobia – fear of advanced technology (see also Luddite)
- Telephone phobia – fear or reluctance of making or taking telephone calls
- Teratophobia – fear of disfigured people
- Tetraphobia – fear of the number 4
- Thalassophobia – fear of the sea, or fear of being in the ocean
- Thanatophobia – fear of dying
- Thermophobia – intolerance to high temperatures
- Tokophobia – fear of childbirth or pregnancy
- Toxiphobia – fear of being poisoned
- Traumatophobia – a synonym for injury phobia: fear of having an injury
- Trichophobia – delusional fear of something in the roots of the hair that stops it from growing,[13] or fear of hair loss
- Triskaidekaphobia, terdekaphobia – fear of the number 13
- Trypanophobia, belonephobia, enetophobia – fear of needles or injections
- Trypophobia – fear of holes or textures with a pattern of holes[14]
W
- Workplace phobia – fear of the workplace
X
- Xanthophobia – fear of the color yellow
- Xenophobia – fear of strangers, foreigners, or aliens
- Xylophobia, hylophobia, ylophobia – fear of trees, forests or wood
Animal phobias
- Agrizoophobia – fear of wild animals
- Ailurophobia – fear/dislike of cats
- Apiphobia – fear/dislike of bees (also known as melissophobia, from the Greek melissa "bee")
- Arachnophobia – fear/dislike of spiders and other arachnids
- Batrachophobia – fear/dislike of frogs and other amphibians
- Chiroptophobia – fear/dislike of bats
- Cynophobia – fear/dislike of dogs
- Entomophobia – fear/dislike of insects
- Equinophobia, hippophobia – fear/dislike of horses
- Herpetophobia – fear/dislike of reptiles or amphibians
- Ichthyophobia – fear/dislike of fish
- Murophobia – fear/dislike of mice or rats
- Ophidiophobia – fear/dislike of snakes
- Ornithophobia – fear/dislike of birds
- Ranidaphobia – fear/dislike of frogs
- Scoleciphobia – fear of worms
- Selachophobia – fear of sharks
- Zoophobia – fear of animals
Non-psychological conditions
- Bibliophobia – fear or hatred of books, as a cultural phenomenon
- Hoplophobia – a political term for fear of weapons, specifically firearms
- Lipophobia – avoidance of fats in food
- Osmophobia – hypersensitivity to smells causing aversion to odors
- Phonophobia – hypersensitivity to sound causing aversion to sounds
- Photophobia – hypersensitivity to light causing aversion to light
Biology, chemistry
Biologists use a number of -phobia/-phobic terms to describe predispositions by plants and animals against certain conditions. For antonyms, see here
- Acidophobia/Acidophobic – preference for non-acidic conditions
- Heliophobia/Heliophobic – aversion to sunlight
- Hydrophobia/Hydrophobic – a property of being repelled by water
- Lipophobicity – a property of fat rejection (sometimes also called lipophobia)
- Oleophobicity – a property of oil rejection
- Photophobia (biology) – a negative phototaxis or phototropism response, or a tendency to stay out of the light
- Superhydrophobe – the property given to materials that are extremely difficult to get wet
- Thermophobia – aversion to heat
Prejudices and discrimination
The suffix -phobia is used to coin terms that denote a particular anti-ethnic or anti-demographic sentiment, such as Americanophobia, Europhobia, Francophobia, Hispanophobia, and Indophobia. Often a synonym with the prefix "anti-" already exists (e.g. Polonophobia vs. anti-Polonism). Anti-religious sentiments are expressed in terms such as Christianophobia and Islamophobia.
Other prejudices include:
- Albanophobia – fear/dislike of Albanians
- Anglophobia – fear/dislike of England or English culture
- Atheophobia – fear/dislike of atheists
- Biphobia – fear/dislike of bisexuality or bisexuals
- Christianophobia – fear/dislike of Christians
- Ephebiphobia – fear/dislike of youth
- Germanophobia – fear/dislike of Germans
- Gerontophobia, gerascophobia – fear/dislike of aging or the elderly
- Heterophobia – fear/dislike of heterosexuals
- Hinduphobia – fear/dislike of Hindus
- Hispanophobia – fear/dislike of Hispanic people, Hispanic culture and the Spanish language
- Homophobia – fear/dislike of homosexuality, homosexuals, or gays (as opposed to lesbians)
- Indophobia – fear/dislike of India or Indian culture
- Islamophobia – fear/dislike of Muslims
- Judeophobia – fear/dislike of Jews
- Lesbophobia – fear/dislike of lesbians
- Negrophobia – fear/dislike of black people
- Nipponophobia – fear/dislike of the Japanese
- Koryophobia – fear/dislike of the Koreans
- Pedophobia – fear/dislike of children
- Polonophobia – fear/dislike of the Polish
- Psychophobia – fear/dislike of mental illness or the mentally ill
- Russophobia – fear/dislike of Russians
- Shiaphobia – fear/dislike of Shiites
- Sinophobia – fear/dislike of Chinese people
- Sunniphobia – fear/dislike of Sunnis
- Transphobia – fear/dislike of transgender people
- Turcophobia – fear/dislike of Turks
- Xenophobia – fear/dislike of foreigners or extraterrestrials
Labels: English Vocabulary, list
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