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.
hygrophobic (adjective), more hygrophobic, most hygrophobic
Referring to the intolerance of existing satisfactorily in moist situations: Some hygrophobic plants, including cacti, can grow and develop successfully in deserts, where there are arid atmospheric conditions.
1. An extreme dread of materialism: Tom, affected by hylephobia, loved living in the rural area instead of in the busy city and he felt that he was living very comfortably, believing that worldly possessions did not provide for his well-being and also not offer him the highest values in his life.
2. An irrational horror of epilepsy: Some people, suffering from hylephobia, fear having an epileptic seizure, especially in the presence of others, or they can also be quite troubled with seeing someone else having such a seizure.
2. An irrational horror of epilepsy: Some people, suffering from hylephobia, fear having an epileptic seizure, especially in the presence of others, or they can also be quite troubled with seeing someone else having such a seizure.
An irrational aversion of forests: Afflicted with hylophobia, Toby wouldn't go alone through the woods because he was so afraid of getting lost!
An abnormal dread of being in a position of responsibility: Sam had a depressive disorder termed hypengyophobia because he avoided obligations and accountabilities due to having an irrational sense of inadequacy.
An abnormal dislike of excessive hair on the body: Joe, suffering from hypertrichophobia, was oversensitive about the growth of whiskers on his face and the growth of such threadlike structures on his chest and back, so he shaved twice a day and had the other growths removed regularly!
An excessive fear of sleeping or of falling asleep, or of being hypnotized: Jane, suffering from hypnophobia, was known to be a "night owl" and actually avoided going to bed at all because she was afraid of never waking up again!
A lack of normal fear: Tom's mother thought that her son must have a hypophobia, because he never seemed to be afraid of anything, not even with bungee jumping!
An abnormal fear of high places: Toby never realised that he had hypsiphobia, or "acrophobia", until one day, when he went up the CN Tower in Toronto and looked over the metropolis, he felt overwhelmingly uncomfortable and experienced a panic attack.
An abnormal fear of going to a physician or to places where patients are treated: Mr. Anderson, definitely suffering from iatrophobia, was in a panic when his doctor told him that he had to go to a hospital for his examination.
An irrational dislike of fish or of anything associated with fish: Ichthyophobia can relate to a cultural phenomena of not eating cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates, of fearing the touch, or even of seeing a dead trout.
A hatred or dread of images: Sally evidently had had a very bad experience when she had to present information about a certain drawing in her art class, and since then she has had iconophobia, with a strong aversion towards statues, drawings, and paintings.
iconophobic (adjective), more iconophobic, most iconophobic
Pertaining to an individual who has an extreme dislike of images: Alfred didn't go to the museum with the rest of the group because he was iconophobic and couldn't stand sculptures, drawings, paintings, or sketches, especially those which were of religious nature.
An abnormal fear or distrust of reasoning or thoughts: Erin's ideaphobias often interfered with his making any reasonable decisions because he always had doubts and suspicions about new notions and concepts.
An excessive fear of vertigo: Susan's illynogophobia presented problems for her when going on hikes up the mountain because she always became light-headed and quite dizzy when looking down from the peak of the mountain.
A distress at being found out that one is an imposter: In the story Susan was reading, the main character turned out to be a sham who gave pretences at being what he wasn't, and suddenly, when he was discovered as a deceiver, he had a case of imponereophobia, with the typical symptoms of a fast heart beat, sweating, and a panic attack.
