List of phobias

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This article is about the suffix -phobia. For the class of psychological disorders, see Phobia.

The English suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe (of Greek origin: φόβος/φοβία ) occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, disabling fear as a mental disorder, a phobia (e.g., agoraphobia), 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. The suffix is antonymic to -phil-.

For more information on the psychiatric side, including how psychiatry groups phobias 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 a word ending in -phobia may have an antonym with the suffix -phil-, e.g., Germanophobe / Germanophile.

See also the category:Phobias.

Phobia lists

A large number of-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.

Psychological conditions

• Acarophobia - fear of mites and by generalization to other small insects.
• Ablutophobia – fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning.
• Acrophobia, Altophobia – fear of heights.
• Agoraphobia, Agoraphobia Without History of Panic Disorder – fear of places or events where escape is impossible or when help is unavailable.
• Agraphobia – fear of sexual abuse.
• Aichmophobia – fear of sharp or pointed objects (as a needle, knife or a pointing finger).
• Ailurophobia- Fear of cats
• Algophobia – fear of pain.
• Agyrophobia – fear of crossing roads.
• Amathophobia - Fear of dust.
• Amaxophobia - fear of vehicles, of riding in them.
• Androphobia – fear of men.
• Anemophobia - fear of wind, drafts, moving air
• Anginophobia - fear of suffocation, of being suffocated, or more specifically an attack of angina.
• Anthropophobia – fear of people or being in a company, a form of social phobia.
• Anthophobia – fear of flowers.
• Aquaphobia – fear of water and by generalization swimming.
• Aphephobia - fear of being touched by another person.
• Astraphobia, Astrapophobia, Brontophobia, Keraunophobia – fear of thunder, lightning and storms; especially common in young children.
• Aviophobia, Aviatophobia – fear of flying.
• Bacillophobia, Bacteriophobia, Microbiophobia – fear of microbes and bacteria.
• Blood-injection-injury type phobia – a DSM-IV subtype of specific phobias
• Catoptrophobia - fear of mirrors or of one's own reflection.
• Chorophobia - fear of dancing.
• Cibophobia, Sitophobia – aversion to food, synonymous to Anorexia nervosa.
• Claustrophobia – fear of confined spaces.
• Coulrophobia – fear of clowns (not restricted to evil clowns).
• Decidophobia – fear of making decisions.
• Dental phobia, Dentophobia, Odontophobia – fear of dentists and dental procedures
• Dysmorphophobia, or body dysmorphic disorder – a phobic obsession with a real or imaginary body defect.
• Emetophobia – fear of vomiting.
• Ergasiophobia, Ergophobia – fear of work or functioning, or a surgeon's fear of operating.
• Ergophobia – fear of work or functioning.
• Erotophobia – fear of sexual love or sexual questions.
• Erythrophobia – pathological blushing.
• Gelotophobia - fear of being laughed at.
• Gephyrophobia – fear of bridges.
• Genophobia, Coitophobia – fear of sexual intercourse.
• Gerascophobia – fear of growing old or ageing.
• Gerontophobia – fear of growing old, or a hatred or fear of the elderly.
• Glossophobia – fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak.
• Gymnophobia – fear of nudity.
• Gynophobia – fear of women.
• Haptephobia – fear of being touched.
• Heliophobia – fear of sunlight.
• Hemophobia, Haemophobia – fear of blood.
• Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – fear of the number 666.
• Hoplophobia – fear of weapons, specifically firearms (Generally a political term but the clinical phobia is also documented).
• Ligyrophobia – fear of loud noises.
• Lipophobia – fear/avoidance of fats in food.
• Medication phobia - fear of medications
• Megalophobia - fear of large/oversized objects.
• Mysophobia – fear of germs, contamination or dirt.
• Necrophobia – fear of death, the dead.
• Neophobia, Cainophobia, Cainotophobia, Cenophobia, Centophobia, Kainolophobia, Kainophobia – fear of newness, novelty.
• Nomophobia – fear of being out of mobile phone contact.
• Nosophobia – fear of contracting a disease.
• Nosocomephobia - fear of hospitals.
• Nyctophobia, Achluophobia, Lygophobia, Scotophobia – fear of darkness.
• Osmophobia, Olfactophobia – fear of smells.
• Paraskavedekatriaphobia, Paraskevidekatriaphobia, Friggatriskaidekaphobia – fear of Friday the 13th.
• Panphobia – fear of everything or constantly afraid without knowing what is causing it.
• Phasmophobia - fear of ghosts, spectres or phantasms.
• Phagophobia – fear of swallowing.
• Pharmacophobia – same as medication phobia
• Phobophobia – fear of having a phobia.
• Phonophobia – fear of loud sounds.
• Pyrophobia – fear of fire.
• Radiophobia – fear of radioactivity or X-rays.
• Sociophobia – fear of people or social situations
• Scopophobia – fear of being looked at or stared at.
• Somniphobia – fear of sleep.
• Spectrophobia – fear of mirrors and one's own reflections.
• Taphophobia – fear of the grave, or fear of being placed in a grave while still alive.
• Technophobia – fear of technology (see also Luddite).
• Telephone phobia, fear or reluctance of making or taking phone calls.
• Tetraphobia – fear of the number 4.
• Tokophobia – fear of childbirth.
• Tomophobia – fear or anxiety of surgeries/surgical operations.
• Traumatophobia – a synonym for injury phobia, a fear of having an injury
• Triskaidekaphobia, Terdekaphobia – fear of the number 13.
• Trypanophobia, Belonephobia, Enetophobia – fear of needles or injections.
• Workplace phobia – fear of the work place.
• Xenophobia – fear of strangers, foreigners, or aliens.

Animal phobias

• Ailurophobia – fear/dislike of cats.
• Animal phobia - fear of certain animals, a category of specific phobias.
• Apiphobia – fear/dislike of bees (also known as Melissophobia).
• Arachnophobia – fear/dislike of spiders.
• Chiroptophobia – fear/dislike of bats.
• Cynophobia – fear/dislike of dogs.
• Entomophobia – fear/dislike of insects.
• Equinophobia – fear/dislike of horses (also known as Hippophobia).
• Herpetophobia - fear/dislike of reptiles.
• Ichthyophobia – fear/dislike of fish.
• Musophobia – fear/dislike of mice and/or rats.
• Ophidiophobia – fear/dislike of snakes.
• Ornithophobia – fear/dislike of birds.
• Scoleciphobia – fear of worms.
• Selachophobia - fear/dislike of sharks.
• Zoophobia – a generic term for animal phobias.

Non-psychological conditions

• Hydrophobia – fear of water (a symptom of rabies).
• Photophobia – hypersensitivity to light causing aversion to light
• Phonophobia – hypersensitivity to sound causing aversion to sounds.
• Osmophobia – hypersensitivity to smells causing aversion to odors.

Biology

Biologists use a number of -phobia/-phobic terms to describe predispositions by plants and animals against certain conditions. For antonyms, see here.

• Heliophobia/Heliophobic – aversion to sunlight.
• Ombrophobia – avoidance of rain
• Photophobia (biology) a negative phototaxis or phototropism response, or a tendency to stay out of the light
• Thermophobia – aversion to heat.

Prejudices and discrimination

See also: List of anti-ethnic terms

The suffix -phobia is used to coin terms that denote a particular anti-ethnic or anti-demographic sentiment, such as 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:

• Biphobia – dislike of bisexuals.
• Chemophobia – prejudice against artificial substances in favour of 'natural' substances.
• Ephebiphobia – fear/dislike of youth.
• Gerontophobia, Gerascophobia – fear of growing old or a hatred of the elderly.
• Heterophobia – fear/dislike of heterosexuals.
• Homophobia – aversion to homosexuality or fear of homosexuals.
• Hoplophobia – aversion to firearms or firearms owners. This word has also gained a certain political notoriety as a dysphemism for "gun control advocate".
• Judeophobia – fear/dislike of Jews.
• Lesbophobia – fear/dislike of lesbian women.
• Pedophobia, Pediophobia – fear/dislike of children.
• Psychophobia – fear/dislike of mentally ill.
• Transphobia – fear or dislike of transgender or transsexual people.
• Xenophobia – fear or dislike of foreigners.

Miscellaneous

• Arachnophobia – "fear/dislike of spiders," a film
• Chromophobia – "hatred/fear of colors," a film
• Choreophobia – hatred of dance, a book by Anthony Shay about Iranian dance and its prohibition after the Iranian Revolution
• Entomophobia – a genus of orchids. The word means "fear of insects"
• Philophobia, an album by Arab Strap
• Robophobia – a novel by Richard Evans

see also

• Affect phobia

References

• Chris Aldrich (2002-12-02). The Aldrich Dictionary of Phobias and Other Word Families, Trafford Publishing.