The
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe (from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
φόβος ''phobos'', "fear") occur in technical usage in
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Initial p ...
to construct words that describe irrational,
abnormal, unwarranted, persistent, or disabling
fear
Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...
as a mental disorder (e.g.
agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can i ...
), in
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...
to describe chemical aversions (e.g.
hydrophobic
In chemistry, hydrophobicity is the physical property of a molecule that is seemingly repelled from a mass of water (known as a hydrophobe). In contrast, hydrophiles are attracted to water.
Hydrophobic molecules tend to be nonpolar and, ...
), in
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...
to describe organisms that dislike certain conditions (e.g.
acidophobia), and in
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
to describe hypersensitivity to a stimulus, usually sensory (e.g.
photophobia
Photophobia is a medical symptom of abnormal intolerance to visual perception of light. As a medical symptom photophobia is not a morbid fear or phobia, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure or by presence of ...
). In common usage, they also form words that describe dislike or hatred of a particular thing or subject (e.g.
homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, ...
). The suffix is
antonym
In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''long'' entails that it is not ''short''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members ...
ic to
-phil-.
For more information on the psychiatric side, including how psychiatry groups phobias such as agoraphobia, social phobia, or simple phobia, see
phobia
A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avo ...
. 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
Word games (also called word game puzzles or word search games) are spoken, board, or video games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.
Word games are generally used as a source of entertainment, but can add ...
, of notable example being a 1998 humorous article published by
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
.
[The A–Z of Fear]
a 30 October 1998 BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
unsigned article in the "Entertainment" section In some cases, a word ending in ''-phobia'' may have an
antonym
In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''long'' entails that it is not ''short''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members ...
with the suffix ''
-phil-'', e.g.
Germanophobe
Anti-German sentiment (also known as Anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, its culture, or its language. Its opposite is Germanophilia.
Anti-German sentiment largely began with t ...
/
Germanophile
A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of German culture, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German citizen. The love of the ''Ge ...
.
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". Such practice is known as
content spamming and is used to attract
search engines
A search engine is a software system designed to carry out web searches. They search the World Wide Web in a systematic way for particular information specified in a textual web search query. The search results are generally presented in a ...
.
An article published in 1897 in ''
American Journal of Psychology
The ''American Journal of Psychology'' is a journal devoted primarily to experimental psychology. It is the first such journal to be published in the English language (though ''Mind'', founded in 1876, published some experimental psychology earl ...
'' noted "the absurd tendency to give Greek names to objects feared (which, as
Arndt Arndt or Arnd is a German masculine given name, a short form of Arnold, as well as a German patronymic surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
*Arndt Bause (1936–2003), German composer of popular songs
*Arndt von Bohlen und H ...
says, would give us such terms as klopsophobia – fear of thieves, – fear of the number 13....)".
__TOC__
Psychological conditions
Specialists may prefer to avoid the suffix ''-phobia'' and use more descriptive terms such as
personality disorder
Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the individual's culture ...
s,
anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorders are a cluster of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal function are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause physi ...
s, and
avoidant personality disorder
Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) is a Cluster C personality disorder characterized by excessive social anxiety and inhibition, fear of intimacy (despite an intense desire for it), severe feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, and an overre ...
. 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.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
V
W
X
Z
Cultural prejudices and discrimination
Ethnic 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
Anti-French sentiment (Francophobia or Gallophobia) is fear or antagonism of France, the French people, French culture, the French government or the Francophonie (set of political entities that use French as an official language or whose French-s ...
,
Hispanophobia
Hispanophobia (from Latin ''Hispanus'', "Spanish" and Greek φοβία (''phobia''), "fear") or anti-Spanish sentiment is a fear, distrust, hatred of; aversion to, or discrimination against the Spanish language, Hispanic, Latino and/or Span ...
, and
Indophobia. Often a synonym with the prefix "anti-" already exists (e.g.
Polonophobia vs.
anti-Polonism
Polonophobia, also referred to as anti-Polonism, ( pl, Antypolonizm), and anti-Polish sentiment are terms for negative attitudes, prejudices, and actions against Poles as an ethnic group, Poland as their country, and their culture. These incl ...
). Anti-religious sentiments are expressed in terms such as
Christianophobia
Anti-Christian sentiment or Christophobia constitutes opposition or objections to Christians, the Christian religion, and/or its practices. Anti-Christian sentiment is sometimes referred to as Christophobia or Christianophobia, although these terms ...
and
Islamophobia
Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism.
The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...
.
Medical conditions
Cultural phenomena
''-phobia'' in the natural sciences
In the natural sciences, words with the suffix ''-phobia/-phobic'' generally describe a predisposition for avoidance and/or exclusion. For antonyms, see
here
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here
Television
* Here TV (form ...
Jocular and fictional phobias
* Aibohphobia – a humorous term for the fear of
palindrome
A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as the words ''madam'' or ''racecar'', the date and time ''11/11/11 11:11,'' and the sentence: "A man, a plan, a canal – Panam ...
s, which is a palindrome itself. The term is a piece of
computer humor Computer humour, also known as hacker humour, is humour on the subject of computers or their users.
Examples
Examples of computer humour include:
*"Any key", taken to mean pressing the (non-existent) "Any" key rather than any key
*April Fools' Day ...
entered into the 1981 ''
The Devil's DP Dictionary
''The Computer Contradictionary'' is a non-fiction book by Stan Kelly-Bootle that compiles a satirical list of definitions of computer industry terms. It is an example of "cynical lexicography" in the tradition of Ambrose Bierce's ''The Devil's Di ...
''.
* Anatidaephobia – the fictional fear that one is being watched by a duck. The word comes from the name of the family ''
Anatidae
The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating ...
,'' and was used in
Gary Larson
Gary Larson (born August 14, 1950) is an American cartoonist, environmentalist, and former musician. He is the creator of ''The Far Side'', a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to more than 1,900 newspapers for fif ...
's ''
The Far Side
''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrealist ...
''.
* Anoraknophobia – a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[anorak
A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. This kind of garment is a staple of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit ...](_blank)
" and "
arachnophobia
Arachnophobia is a specific phobia brought about by the irrational fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions.
Signs and symptoms
People with arachnophobia tend to feel uneasy in any area they believe could harbour spiders or that h ...
". It was used in the
Wallace and Gromit
''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series c ...
comic book ''Anoraknophobia''. Also the title of an
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by
Marillion.
* Arachibutyrophobia – fear of
peanut butter
Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...
sticking to the roof of the mouth, from Latin ' "peanut" and ' "butter". The word is used by
Charles M. Schulz
Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wi ...
in a 1982 installment of his ''
Peanuts
''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...
'' comic strip, and by
Peter O'Donnell
Peter O'Donnell (11 April 1920 – 3 May 2010) was an English writer of mysteries and of comic strips, best known as the creator of ''Modesty Blaise'', an action heroine/undercover trouble-shooter. He was also an award-winning gothic hi ...
in his 1985
Modesty Blaise
''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talent ...
adventure novel
Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction.
History
In the Introduction to the ''Encyclopedi ...
''
Dead Man's Handle''.
* Charlophobia – the fictional fear of any person named Charlotte or Charlie, mentioned in the comedic book ''A Duck is Watching Me: Strange and Unusual Phobias (2014),'' by Bernie Hobbs. The phobia was created to mock
name bias, a form of discrimination studied by researchers at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
and the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
.
*
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia – fear of long words, from the root word combined with ''monstrum'' and ''
hippopotamus
The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...
''. This was mentioned on the first episode of
Brainiac
Brainiac is a colloquial adjective used to describe exceptionally intelligent people. It may also refer to:
Culture Fictional entities
* Brainiac (character), a fictional supervillain in DC Comics, and an enemy of Superman
* Brainiac (story arc), ...
Series Five as a
Tickle
Tickling is the act of touching a part of a body in a way that causes involuntary twitching movements or laughter. The word evolved from the Middle English ''tikelen'', perhaps frequentative of ''ticken'', to touch lightly.
In 1897, psychol ...
's Teaser.
* Keanuphobia – fear of
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...
, portrayed in the
Dean Koontz
Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is an American author. His novels are billed as Thriller (genre), suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror fiction, horror, fantasy, science fiction, Mystery fiction, mystery, and satir ...
book, ''
False Memory
In psychology, a false memory is a phenomenon where someone recalls something that did not happen or recalls it differently from the way it actually happened. Suggestibility, activation of associated information, the incorporation of misinformat ...
'', where a woman has an
irrational fear of Reeves and has to see her psychiatrist, Mark Ahriman, each week, unaware that she only has the fear in the first place because Ahriman implanted it via
hypnotic suggestion to amuse himself. He calls her "''Keanuphobe''" in his head.
* Nihilophobia – fear of nothingness, from Latin ''nihil and'' "nothing, none", as described by
the Doctor in the ''
Star Trek: Voyager'' episode "
Night
Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
". Voyager's morale officer and chef Neelix has this condition, having
panic attack
Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...
s while the ship was traversing a dark expanse of space known as the Void. It is also the title of a 2008 album by
Neuronium
Neuronium is a Spanish electronic music group created by Michel Huygen in 1976. The official biography claims ''Quasar 2C361'' (1977) to be the first cosmic music album recorded in Spain. Over 40 albums have been released by the Neuronium/Michel ...
.
*
Robophobia
''Robophobia'' is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who.'' It is a four-part story.
Plot
The Doctor arrives on a spaceship transporting over a hundred thousand po ...
– irrational fear of robots and/or androids, also known as "
Grimwade's Syndrome". It was first used in "
The Robots of Death
''The Robots of Death'' is the fifth serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 29 January to 19 February 1977.
In the serial, the Four ...
", the fifth serial of the
14th season of the British
science fiction television
Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
.''
* Semaphobia – fear of average web developers to use
Semantic Web technologies.
* Venustraphobia – fear of beautiful women, according to a 1998
humor
Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...
ous article published by
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
.
[ '']Venustraphobia
''Venustraphobia'' is the debut album by the rock band Casbah Club, released in 2006. The album uses many of Simon Townshend's well received solo songs. The term venustraphobia supposedly means the fear of beautiful women.
Track listing
All son ...
'' is also the title of a 2006 album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by Casbah Club
Casbah Club is a British mod rock band formed in Finchley, London in 2004.
Career
The band consisted of guitarist/vocalist Simon Townshend (brother of Pete Townshend and touring member of The Who), bassist Bruce Foxton (The Jam, Stiff Li ...
.
See also
* List of paraphilias
Paraphilias are sexual interests in objects, situations, or individuals that are atypical. The American Psychiatric Association, in its ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition'' (DSM), draws a distinction between paraphilias (which ...
* Childhood phobia
*Phobia
A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avo ...
*Specific phobia
Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder, characterized by an extreme, unreasonable, and irrational fear associated with a specific object, situation, or concept which poses little or no actual danger. Specific phobia can lead to avoidance of the o ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
The Phobia List
Nursing Degree Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phobias, list of
List of phobias
Medical lists
Psychology lists