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.

—Napoleon Bonparte
insectophobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
An abnormal fear of insects and similar arthropods: Jim remembered that Julie had insectophobia, also called "entomophobia", and didn't call her attention to the number of "bugs" near their bench where they were sitting, afraid that she would panic and run away!
iophobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
1. An excessive fear of poisons: Jacob dreaded toxicants and had an iophobia, better known as "toxiphobia", because his sister died at an early age having accidentally drinking a toxicant out of a bottle.
2. A hatred of rust: Jim always kept his gardening tools extremely clean and polished because he couldn't tolerate any red or brown oxide coating appearing on them, and his sister thought he had iophobia!
Iraqnophobia, Iraqnaphobia, Iraqniphobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
A strong fear of Iraq: It's sad to say, but many people have Iraqnophobia and are afraid of Iraq's ability to manufacture and use biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons which they have read about in the news.
isolophobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
An irrational dread of solitude or of being alone: Some people who suffer from isolophobia decide to stay in a bad or unwise situation or want to continue a troubling and distressing relationship just because they just don't want to be by themselves.
isopterophobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
An abnormal detestation of wood-eating insects: Although the cabinet maker tried to explain that the table would not be eaten and destroyed by any termites, Deborah still couldn't get over her isopterophobia that always crept on her regarding her chairs and table made of walnut.
ithyphallophobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
A revulsion of seeing or having an erect penis: There are a few people who have problems in their sexual relationships because of their ithyphallophoba, even when they think about their partner being in a phase of sexual arousal.
kakorraphiaphobia, kakorraphiophobia (s) (noun); kakorraphiaphobias, kakorraphiophobias (pl)
An irrational distress of failure, defeat, or of "looking bad": Jessica, affected by kakorraphiophobia, always studied very hard for her classes in school because she definitely wanted to be the best student of all of her classmates that year.
kakorrhaphiophobia (s) (noun), kakorrhaphiophobias (pl)
An excessive horror of failure or a dread of bad planning: Before going with Sam on their trip to Canada from California, Jane had kakorrhaphiophobia and was very much afraid that he would not make sure that his arrangements would make their trip successful.
katagelophobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
An irrational dread or dislike of being ridiculed: Nancy usually never said what she thought about political issues because she had a katagelophobia and detested being humiliated and embarrassed in social situations.
kathisophobia, cathisophobia (s) (noun); kathisophobias, cathisophobias (pl)
1. An excessive or abnormal avoidance of taking a seat: When someone has kathisophobia or cathisophobia, he or she may actually have anxieties about being trapped or is unable to sit still.

A kathisophobia may become the source of fear because it can be painful or uncomfortable in some people, especially the elderly who may be forced to be seated for longer times than younger persons, simply because they are not as ambulatory or capable of walking.

2. Etymology: from Greek kathizein, "to sit down" + phobia, "strong" or "irrational fear".
kenophobia (s) (noun), kenophobias (pl)
An abnormal dread of being in empty rooms, large areas and spaces, or in uninhabited wildernesses in nature: Janet always lived together with others and never alone because she had kenophobia and hated being in a apartment by herself.
keraunothnetophobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
An exaggerated fear of being struck by man-made satellites: When outside, little Tommy, suffering from a keraunothnetophobia, always wore a helmet because he was terribly afraid of a space vehicle falling on him!
kinesophobia, kinetophobia (s) (noun); kinesophobias, kinetophobias (pl)
1. An excessive aversion to movement: Some people may have kinesophobia as a result of balance problems or inner-ear disorders and so they may have a greater fear of motions because of their reduced ability to adjust physically to them.
2. Etymology: from Greek kinein, "to move" + phobia, "fear, extreme fear of, or a dread of".
koinoniphobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
An irrational dread of being in a room full of people or in the company of a group of people: Becky always sat next to the open door when there was a staff meeting because of her koinoniphobia and her fear of being cramped in a space full of individuals.
kolpophobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
A horror regarding the female genital area: Sometimes new doctors, who are assigned to obstetrics, experience kolphophobia and want to avoid caring for women during and after pregnancy, but soon overcome this by consulting a professional therapist.