phobo-, phob-, -phobia, -phobias, -phobe, -phobiac, -phobist, -phobic, -phobism, -phobous
(Greek: fear, extreme fear of; morbid, excessive, irrational fear, or terror of something or someone; however, sometimes this Greek element also means a strong dislike, dread, or hatred for something or someone)
For more details about the various phobias, visit this Phobias Introduction page to see Phobia Variations Defined and Explained.
There are only two forces that unite men: fear and self-interest.
The dread of being with women or a morbid hatred of women in general: Robert grew up with his dominant mother who behaved in a very extreme and awful manner towards him, and after trying to get over his gynophobia with therapy, he finally found a young lady who was generous, understanding, and who respected him.
An abnormal horror of hell: Hadephobia relates to the idea that one may go to the infernal region or underworld after death and judgment day and undergo torture.
A morbid fear of blood or of bleeding: Jerry, who suffered from haemaphobia, couldn't stand the sight of the red vital fluid and fainted every time he happened to see it!
See "hemaphobia" for all forms of this word group.
See "hemaphobia" for all forms of this word group.
An intense dislike of saints or of holy objects or concepts: The young lady refused to visit the nunnery and monastery on their sightseeing tour because she was afflicted with hagiophobia.
A pervasive and exaggerated fear of having a bad or offensive breath: Some people afflicted with halitophobia avoid social activities and live in a state of self-enforced solitude.
When dealing with the problem of halitosis or with the halitosis patient, it is important to distinguish between "genuine halitosis" and "pseudo-halitosis".
"Genuine halitosis" can be verified when the breath malodor is an actual problem that can be easily diagnosed either by organoleptic or by physic-chemical processes. "Pseudo-halitosis" exists when the oral malodor does not exist, although the patient is convinced that he or she has it.
If, after successful treatment for either genuine halitosis or pseudo-halitosis, the patient still believes that he or she has halitosis, then the diagnosis is termed halitophobia.
This simple classification system includes corresponding treatment requirements and allows the clinician to differentiate between a pathological and a psychological condition.
The revulsion or dread of salt or of salty food: Being strongly affected by halophobia, Thomas detested sodium chloride with his meals and so he didn't have it on the table and just ate fruit and vegetables without the extra seasoning.
halophobic (adjective), more halophobic, most halophobic
Referring to organisms which are intolerant of saline habitats: Some bacteria that are halophobic can only survive in freshwater environments and soils having less than 3% salinity.
An excessive dread of committing a wrongdoing or an unpardonable sin, or of doing the wrong thing and being condemned for it: Those who have this harmatophobia may fear one of several types of errors, including "memory errors", which are not the same thing as "forgetting"; false recollections; accidents, as while driving a car; or minor accidents, as when spilling things or when dropping something.
In grief we know the worst of what we feel,
But who can tell the end of what we fear?
But who can tell the end of what we fear?
An irrational aversion of being touched: People affected by haptophobia avoid making physical contact with others which can be related to sexual fears or to becoming contaminated.
1. A morbid fear of robbers or thieves or of being attacked by a robber or a thief: Such a harpaxophobia motivates many to have elaborate burglar-alarm systems at their homes and businesses and several locks on their doors.
2. Etymologically from Greek, harpazo, harpax, "seize, snatch, plunder, rapacious; robbery".
A strong dislike of young people or youth: The elderly lady, afflicted with hebephobia, also termed ephebiphobia, avoided as much contact as possible with teenagers because she thought that the type of music they listened to was awful and because they dressed in a sloppy manner!
An illogical or exaggerated fear of having pleasure: Some people suffering from hedonophobia feel guilty about enjoyable emotions, such as happiness or delight, or experiencing pleasing sensations, which might be due to their cultural or religious background.
An irrational fear of sunlight or an abnormal sensitivity to the effects of sunlight resulting in a strong aversion to being exposed to the sun: In some cases, heliophobia may be influenced by the many warnings that people hear about skin cancer which can develop by being in the sun.
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Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.
heliophobic (adjective), more heliophobic, most heliophobic
A reference to someone who has an exaggerated avoidance of the sun's rays: Linda, according to the doctor's explanation that she was heliophobic, definitely shunned the bright beams of light by wearing dark glasses or shades at all times and even stayed inside whenever the Sol was out.
An exaggerated aversion of Greek or Latin words, of complex scientific terminology, or of pseudo-scientific terms: Benjamin was quite poor in his Latin class at school and avoided everything written in either Latin or Greek, and since this hatred continued for many years, he decided he had a case of having Hellenologophobia.
