phobia

First attested in c. 1790, from words ending in -phobia, ultimately from Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos, “fear”). Compare ism, from -ism, itis, from -itis, and ana, from -ana.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfəʊ.bi.ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfoʊ.bi.ə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊbiə
• Hyphenation: pho‧bia

phobia (plural phobias or phobiae or phobiæ)

1. An irrational, abnormal, or obsessive fear (of something).

   I know someone with a strange phobia of ladders.

   • 1925, Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith:

     It was when anthropophobia set in, when he was made uneasy by people who walked too close to him, that, sagely viewing his list and seeing how many phobias were now checked, he permitted himself to rest.

2. An aversion or dislike (of something).
   • 1914, McClure's Magazine, page 140:

     Some patients have the phobia of light, and others have the phobia of darkness. Another common aversion is that of high places. The phobiac of this type can not sit in the gallery […]

   • 2025 February 5, Julianna Bragg, “Does my child have an anxiety disorder? Here are the signs parents should look out for”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     For some children and their parents, however, it can be difficult to determine when fears are typical and when they are developing into more serious phobias or anxiety disorders. […] But once fears become debilitating or impair daily function, they can be classified as a phobia or anxiety disorder, said Thomas Ollendick, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Virginia Tech, who is known for his work with children and adolescents.

   • 2009 June, Michael G. Peletz, Gender Pluralism: Southeast Asia Since Early Modern Times, Routledge, →ISBN, page 162:

     For as interviewer Than Win Htut expressed it, “misunderstandings about, and phobia of, gay life and homosexuality are very common in Burma.” Than Win Htut went on to observe that in Burma […]

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:phobia.

• Appendix:English unattested phobias