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.
An irrational dislike of the Greeks: The Johnson family evidently had had bad experiences with some Hellenic people, and because of their Hellenophobia, decided not to spend their vacation in Ellas, the country in the southern section of the Balkan Peninsula.
A morbid fear of a worm infestation: Since Judy's cat had parasitic worms once, she was terribly afraid of these soft-bodied animals, and took her tabby to the veterinarian much more than was necessary and later found out that she had a case of helminthophoba!
An individual who is intensely frightened of worms: Ever since Janet was a youngster, she had an extreme hatred of helminths, a parasite nematode, like a roundworm or tapeworm, and after reading about this in a scientific book, she was sure she was a helminthophobic.
A dread or a strong fear of seeing blood: Aron had a hemophobia which caused him to faint even when he saw a small amount of his red vital fluid from a little cut on his finger, or even that of another person.
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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.
hemophobic (adjective), more hemophobic, most hemophobic
Descriptive of anyone who has a dread of seeing blood regardless of the cause: The horror film showed an excessiveness of bloody crimes, and, as a result, it caused many hemophobic people to leave the theater before the movie ended and to publicly condemn the excesses until the film was banned from further presentations.
An excessive fear of challenges to official religious doctrine or a dread of radical deviations from the "orthodox" view: Sally went to church every Sunday like she had been doing all of her life, and was frightened of extreme and non-sacred ways of thinking and behaving, and, affected by heresyphobia, avoided everything having to do with questioning the teachings of the church.
A pathologic or abnormal abhorrence of reptiles: People who have a herpetophobia cannot stand the sight of snakes, lizards, and even amphibians, and, when this does happen, it can lead to severe reactions like anxiety or nausea.
herpetophobiac (noun) herpetophobiacs (pl)
Someone who has an extreme horror of reptiles: Manfred was a herpetophobiac who thought that all snakes were poisonous, slimy like worms, or generally dangerous.
An irrational dread of doing something differently or of not being able to do things in the usual way or manner: Greg suffered from heterophobia in that he always did the same things every morning and was afraid to do anything in an unfamiliar way. This term has nothing to do with a hatred or fear of heterosexuals or their cultures!
An abnormal aversion of the opposite sex: Sometimes heterophobia is considered by some psychoanalysts to be a partial explanation for homosexual behavior.
A fear that originates in the Biblical verse Revelation 13:18 which indicates that the number 666 is the Number of the Beast, linked to Satan or the Anti-Christ: Outside the Christian faith, hexakosioihexekontahexphobia has been further popularized as a "leitmotif" (a recurring musical theme, associated within a particular piece of music with a particular person, place or idea) in various horror films.
An intense dislike of holy people or of sacred objects: After Jane listened to sermons in church, explaining that everyone would go to hell if he or she didn't pray, she developed a strong aversion to anything having to do with such religious individuals or things, and her doctor said later that she had developed a hierophobia.
A person who avoids religious objects or rituals, clergymen, or places of religious worship: Tom, a hierophobic, had a very strong dislike of churches ever since he was forced to go to church with his parents every Sunday during the time he was living at home.
An excessive fear of horses: Mrs. Smith had a very bad experience when she was thrown from her pony as a child, and ever since then she suffered from hippophobia, and even avoided donkeys and mules!
An abnormal dread of exceptionally long words: Suffering from hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, Jack is always very distressed with very long terms, so when he writes he aways uses language terminology with no more than 3 syllables!
