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 extreme horror of nuclear weapons: Some people afflicted by nucleomitaphobia are greatly alarmed that they will die because of a fallout, thermonuclear warfare, radiation, etc. which probably is caused by their predisposition or of some external event.
An abnormal fright or terror of being naked: When Jenny got dressed in the morning and got ready for bed at night, she always had to be by herself in her room with the door closed because she had nudiphobia.
An abnormal fear of being naked: Even when it seemed proper to take a shower with the other soccer team members after a game, Greg, suffering from nudophobia, was horrified at being in the nude and was always the last one in the showers when all the others were gone!
A fear of a specific digit, or of digital notations in general: There are still many people who have a particular numerophobia regarding the number 13, and even some apartment buildings do not have the 13th level, but proceed from the 12th to the 14th story!
An abnormal fear of darkness or night: Mrs. Weber never went out at night, made sure that there were plenty of lights on in her home, and that all the curtains were pulled closed because she had nyctophobia!
A loathing of gaining weight: It seemed that Linda was always on a diet because she was awfully afraid of becoming fat and not fitting into her slim-fit jeans anymore, and her friends thought she had obesophobia!
Jack, troubled with pocrescophobia, was always sure he had a very slim figure by not eating any cake or ice cream, and went to the fitness studio many times during the week.
An irrational dislike of vehicles: Suffering from ochophobia, Mary always decided to walk into town and avoid the streets as much as possible because she just couldn't stand being in any kind of conveyance with a motor!
A fear of teeth: Odontophobia occurs with people who are afraid of the bonelike structures in their jaws, or of those in animals, and a total dislike of dental surgery.
An irrational fear of pain: Many people who have odynophobia have a horror of going to the dentist because of suffering so much when the dentist has to remove decayed parts or extract a tooth, for example.
An outrageous and extreme dislike of wine: In the early years of the 20th century, many organizations and individuals exhibited fanatical oinophobia to the point of smashing windows in bars, causing wagons transporting beverages to overturn in streets and spilling their contents, as well as often injuring the horses and drivers.
oleophobic (adjective), more oleophobic, most oleophobic
Referring to the tendency of rejecting oils or oily materials: Some cell or mobile phones have an oleophobic finish or coating on the screen which repels the natural oil on a person's fingers.
Water is oleophobic in that it cannot absorb grease or fuel oil, for example.
An irrational dread of certain smells: People who suffer from chronic migraines can have olfactophobia believing that it can be prompted by particular odors.
Jim's mother developed osphresiophobia when her son didn't bathe or shower for two weeks and had a very offensive and unpleasant stench!
An exaggerated anxiety caused by rain: Having ombrophobia and whenever it precipitated while Janet was out, she always went home quickly and stayed inside until the sun came out again because she was terribly afraid of what such weather could cause, for example flooding!
ombrophobous (adjective); more ombrophobous, most ombrophobous
Relating to plants that are incapable of withstanding long, continuous rain: There are many ombrophobous shrubs that exist in deserts or dry regions and not in wet areas.
An exaggerated fear of eyes: When John's mother went blind, it was very traumatic for him and his family and it changed the family's everyday life completely causing John to have ommatophobia, and he was terrified when other people described their own illnesses regarding vision.
