Phobias

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