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. The suffix is antonymic to -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.

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. 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.

Psychological conditions

Specialists may prefer to avoid the suffix -phobia and use more descriptive terms such as personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and avoidant personality disorder.

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.^[3][4][5]
• Aibohphobia - fear of palindromes; words, phrases, numbers or other sequence of characters which can be read the same backward or forward.^[6]
• 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^[7]
• 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^[8]
• Aviophobia, aviatophobia – fear of flying

B

• Barophobia – fear of gravity
• 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^[9]
• Chromophobia, chromatophobia – fear of colors
• Chronophobia – fear of time and time moving forward
• Chrysophobia – fear of the color orange^[9]
• Cibophobia, sitophobia – aversion to food, synonymous to anorexia nervosa
• Claustrophobia – fear of having no escape and being closed in
• Cleithrophobia – fear of being trapped^[10]
• Coimetrophobia – fear of cemeteries
• Colorphobia – fear or a strong aversion towards a particular color
• Coprophobia – fear of feces or defecation^[7]
• Coulrophobia – fear of clowns (not restricted to evil clowns)
• Cyanophobia – fear of the color blue^[9]
• 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
• 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,^[11] 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^[12]

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^[13]
• Hoplophobia – a political term for fear of weapons, specifically firearms
• Lipophobia – avoidance of fats in food^[14][15][16] (see also Lipophobicity)
• 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

See also

• List of paraphilias

References

Further reading

• Aldrich, C. (2 December 2002). The Aldrich Dictionary of Phobias and Other Word Families. Trafford Publishing. pp. 224–236. ISBN 1-55369-886-X. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Phobias.

• The Phobia List
• Nursing Degree Guide