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 antonymicto-phil-.
For more information on the psychiatric side, including how psychiatry groups phobias such as agoraphobia, social phobia, or simple phobia, see phobia. The following lists include words ending in -phobia, and include fears that have acquired names. In some cases, the naming of phobias has become a word game, of notable example being a 1998 humorous article published by BBC News.[1] In some cases, a word ending in -phobia may have an antonym with the suffix -phil-, e.g. Germanophobe/Germanophile.
Many -phobia lists circulate on the Internet, with words collected from indiscriminate sources, often copying each other. Also, a number of psychiatric websites exist that at the first glance cover a huge number of phobias, but in fact use a standard text to fit any phobia and reuse it for all unusual phobias by merely changing the name. Sometimes it leads to bizarre results, such as suggestions to cure "prostitute phobia".[2] Such practice is known as content spamming and is used to attract search engines.
An article published in 1897 in American Journal of Psychology noted "the absurd tendency to give Greek names to objects feared (which, as Arndt says, would give us such terms as klopsophobia – fear of thieves, triakaidekaphobia – fear of the number 13....)".[3]
Specialists may prefer to avoid the suffix -phobia and use more descriptive terms such as personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and avoidant personality disorder. Terms should strictly have a Greek prefix although many are irregularly formed with Latin or even English prefixes. Many use inaccurate or imprecise prefixes, such as aerophobia (fear of air) for fear of flying.
Phobia
Condition
fear of darkness
fear of noise – a branch of phonophobia
fear of heights
fear of certain inescapable/unsafe situations
fear of crossing streets
fear of sharp or pointed objects such as a needleorknife
fear/dislike of cats, a zoophobia
fear/dislike of chickens, a zoophobia
fear/dislike of ducks, a zoophobia
fear of pain
Alliumphobia
fear of the strong-scented Allium genus: garlic, onions, chives, shallots[4][5][6][7]
fear of wind or drafts
Androphobia
fear of adult men[8]
fear of human beings[8]
excessive fear of infinity, eternity, and the uncountable
fear of being touched
Apotemnophobia
fear of amputees, and/or of becoming an amputee[9][10]
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.
fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions, a zoophobia
fear of imperfection
fear of failure[11] or negative evaluations of others
Phobia
Condition
fear of bacteria
Basophobia, basiphobia
fear associated with astasia-abasia (fear of walking/standing erect) and a fear of falling
fear/dislike of frogs and other amphibians, a zoophobia
fear of needles or pins[13][14]
fear of books
aDSM-IV subtype of specific phobias
Phobia
Condition
Cacophobia, aschimophobia
fear of ugliness
fear of cancer
fear of mirrors
fear of chemicals
fear of happiness
fear/dislike of bats, a zoophobia
Chromophobia, chromatophobia
fear of colors
fear of time and time moving forward
Chronomentrophobia
aversion to food, synonymous with anorexia nervosa
fear of having no escape and being closed in
fear of cemeteries
fear of fecesordefecation[8]
fear of computers
fear/dislike of dogs, a zoophobia
Fear of headaches
Phobia
Condition
fear of dentists and dental procedures
fear of dentists
fear of deleting files or an extreme fear of losing your computer data.[19]
fear of houses
Driving phobia, driving anxiety
fear of driving
a phobic obsession with a real or imaginary body defect
fear of being involved in an accident[20]
Phobia
Condition
fear of cataclysmic environmental change
fear of mirrors or seeing one's reflection in a mirror[21][22]
fear of vomiting
fear of crowds
fear/dislike of insects, a zoophobia
fear of youth; inaccurate, exaggerated and sensational characterization of young people
fear of horses
Ergophobia, ergasiophobia
fear of work or functioning, or a surgeon's fear of operating
fear of sexual loveorsexual abuse
Erythrophobia, erytophobia, ereuthophobia
fear of the color red, or fear of blushing
aversion to female genitals
Phobia
Condition
fear of becoming too cold
Phobia
Condition
fear of sharks
fear of marriage
fear of being laughed at
fear of bridges
fear of sexual intercourse
fear of knees or the act of kneeling
fear of growing oldoraging
fear of growing old, or a hatred or fear of the elderly
fear of balloons
fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak
fear of adult women
Phobia
Condition
fear of bad breath
fear of being touched
fear of the number 17
fear of obtaining pleasure
Helminthophobia, scoleciphobia, vermiphobia
Hemophobia, haemophobia
fear of blood
fear/dislike of reptilesoramphibians, a zoophobia
fear of the number 666
fear/dislike of horses,[25]azoophobia
fear of travel
Hydrophobia[26]
fear of water, see aquaphobia
fear of sleepornightmares[27]
fear of illness
Phobia
Condition
fear of fish, including fear of eating fish, or fear of dead fish, a zoophobia
Phobia
Condition
Phobia
Condition
fear of tornadoesorhurricanes
fear of butterflies and moths, a zoophobia
Phobia
Condition
fear of cooking
fear of people in masks, costumes and mascots
Megalophobia
fear of large objects
Melanophobia
fear of the color black
fear/dislike of bees, a zoophobia
fear of being alone or isolated or of one's self
Musophobia, murophobia, suriphobia
fear/dislike of miceorrats, a zoophobia
fear of germs, contaminationordirt
Phobia
Condition
fear of death or the dead
Neophobia, cainophobia, cainotophobia, centophobia, kainolophobia, kainophobia, metathesiophobia, prosophobia
fear of newness, novelty, changeorprogress
fear of the night
fear of being out of mobile phone contact
fear of hospitals
fear of contracting a disease
Nostophobia, ecophobia
fear of returning home
fear of numbers
Nyctophobia, achluophobia, lygophobia, scotophobia
fear of darkness
Phobia
Condition
fear of gaining weight
fear of home surroundings and household appliances
fear of eyes
fear of dreams
fear/dislike of snakes, a zoophobia
fear of being stared at
fear/dislike of birds, a zoophobia
Osmophobia, olfactophobia
fear of odors
fear/dislike of shellfish, a zoophobia
Phobia
Condition
fear of everything or constant generalised fear of an unknown cause
fear of swallowing
fear of medications
fear of love
Phyllophobia
fear of leaves[30][31][32][33]
fear of fear itself or of having a phobia
fear of loud sounds or voices
fear of beards
dislike or fear of pornography; may be used in reference to the opposition to visual nudity
fear of the color purple
fear of flying
fear of fire
Phobia
Condition
fear of radioactivityorX-rays
fear/dislike of frogs, a zoophobia
Phobia
Condition
fear of being looked at or stared at
fear of sexual organsorsexual activities
fear of people or social situations
fear of sleep
fear of mirrors
fear of partially or fully submerged man-made objects[34][35]
Phobia
Condition
Taphophobia, taphephobia
fear of graves, or fear of being placed in a grave while still alive
fear of advanced technology (see also Luddite)
fear or reluctance of making or taking telephone calls
fear of giving birth to a monster[36] or a disfigured foetus[37]
fear of the number 4
fear of the sea, or fear of being in the ocean
fear of dying
fear of intolerance to high temperatures
fear of childbirthorpregnancy
fear of invasive medical procedure[38]
fear of thunder
fear of being poisoned
a synonym for injury phobia: fear of having an injury
delusional fear of something in the roots of the hair that stops it from growing,[39] or fear of hair loss
Triskaidekaphobia, terdekaphobia
fear of the number 13
Trypanophobia, belonephobia, enetophobia
fear of needlesorinjections
fear of holes or textures with a pattern of holes[40]
Phobia
Condition
fear of driving
fear of roller coasters
fear of germs
Phobia
Condition
fear of the workplace, a subset of ergophobia
Phobia
Condition
fear of the color yellow
Phobia
Condition
fear of animals
Phobia
Condition
fear/dislike of asexual people
fear/dislike of people without resources
fear/dislike of bisexualityorbisexuals
fear/dislike of youth
fear/dislike of gay men (specifically)
fear/dislike of agingorthe elderly
fear/dislike of heterosexuals
fear/dislike of homosexuality, homosexuals, or gays (as opposed to lesbians)
fear/dislike of lesbians
fear/dislike of babiesorchildren
fear/dislike of mental illness or the mentally ill
fear/dislike of transgender people
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.
Phobia
Condition
fear/dislike of Africans
fear/dislike of Albanians
fear/dislike of EnglandorEnglish culture
fear/dislike of Catalans, Catalonia, Catalan culture and the Catalan language
fear/dislike of Christians
fear/dislike of Germans
fear/dislike of Hindus
fear/dislike of Irish people
fear/dislike of Hispanic people, Hispanic culture and the Spanish language
fear/dislike of Hungarians
fear/dislike of IndiaorIndian culture
fear/dislike of IndonesiaorIndonesian culture
fear/dislike of IranorIranian culture
fear/dislike of Muslims
fear/dislike of Italians
fear/dislike of Jews
fear/dislike of the Portuguese, Portuguese culture and the Portuguese language
fear/dislike of the Japanese
fear/dislike of the Koreans
fear/dislike of Latin people
fear/dislike of black people
fear/dislike of the Polish
fear/dislike of Russians
fear/dislike of Kurdish people
fear/dislike of Shiites
fear/dislike of Chinese people
fear/dislike of Sunnis
fear/dislike of Turks
fear/dislike of Ukrainians
fear/dislike of foreigners
Phobia
Condition
hypersensitivity to smells causing aversion to odors
hypersensitivity to sound causing aversion to sounds
hypersensitivity to light causing aversion to light
Phobia
Condition
fear or hatred of books, as a cultural phenomenon[41]
avoidance of fats in food[42][43][44] (see also Lipophobicity)
In the natural sciences, words with the suffix -phobia/-phobic generally describe a predisposition for avoidance and/or exclusion. For antonyms, see here
Phobia
Condition
preference for non-acidic conditions
aversion to sunlight
the property of being repelled by water
the property of fat rejection (sometimes also called lipophobia)
the property of oil rejection
a negative phototaxisorphototropism response, or a tendency to stay out of the light
the property given to materials that are extremely difficult to get wet
aversion to heat
Dracula no doubt would have alliumphobia, the fear of garlic.
From the 1880s to the 1930s, a period of accelerated immigration and great social change, garlic was the stench of the flophouse, the dominant note in the 'rich olfactory uneasiness' that blew in from Ellis Island, and the go-to metaphor for immigrant neighborhoods. Its sulfurous tang was almost beside the point; the bulb smelled of foreign incursion.
While humans appear to be relatively resistant to onion toxicity, there is some concern about the susceptibility of certain ethnic groups that have a genetic deficiency of G6PD. / Onion toxicity depends on factors other than variation in species susceptibility. Onions contain varying amounts of disulfide and SMCO toxins, depending on the species of onion, time of year, and growing conditions. Storing onions in large piles also provides a suitable environment for contamination of the crop with other toxins, such as mycotoxins, which could contribute to the disease process.
Chives can be potential gastrointestinal irritants in some people. The reactive oxidants released by chives can stimulate bowel problems such as diarrhoea and acid reflux. / Alliums can cause digestive disorders. Chives belong to the Allium genus and have an acidic pH of 5.75. It is a pH range that would make gastritis worse. Moreover, the high fructans content in chives triggers acid reflux. It would aggravate gastritis.
Chronomentrophobia is the irrational fear of clocks, which usually extends to watches. ... The mere sight or sound of a ticking clock can cause depression and anxiety. People with this fear avoid clocks at all costs....
Years ago, I had a terrifying nightmare. I was back in Konstanz, my German hometown, walking in a beautiful forest adjacent to the lake. Suddenly, the giant trees surrounding me ripped their roots out of the earth and began to run after me, chasing me all the way out of the forest. I ran and ran, fearing for my life. Later I learned that my dream had its roots in an ancient phobia of trees called dendrophobia, a primordial terror linked to a sense that trees are more alive than we think. For those suffering from dendrophobia, trees have a paradoxical mobility that enables them to use their roots to grab humans or even kill them by willfully dropping their branches on them. Dendrophobia, an officially recognized mental illness that may in extreme cases lead to institutionalization, is linked to trees being recognized not simply as living beings but rather as hostile ones, intent on inflicting harm on humans or even killing them.
phyllophobia… An excessive fear of leaves: Each time Virginia saw the excessive amount of leafage on the ground in the fall, she had phyllophobia because it was the time of year to do the raking which took many days to complete!
However it might be useful this autumn to know that phyllophobia is a fear of leaves….
phyllophobia: An excessive fear of leaves.
Phyllophobia, the fear of leaves, might not be as much in the news this autumn as coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. But anywhere that crinkly, dead leaves are, some people are scared of them.
A catalogue of unusual phobias reveals that the fear of long words is known as hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.
Other
Psychological development
(developmental disabilities)
Other
Other
Nonorganic sleep
Psychosis and
schizophrenia-like
Schizophrenia
Other