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 abnormal anxiety about what is true: The politician had an alethophobia regarding whether his opponents would find out where his financial support came from.
An excessive or exaggerated dread of pain: It is believed that mankind has suffered from algophobia since the beginning of time.
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Although a wide variety of drugs are now available to ease physical soreness, it is still a fearful experience, and the prospect of having such physical ordeals makes many people become afflicted with algophobia.
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An abhorrence of plants with pungent, sharp, or strong odors: People suffering from alliumphobia not only refer to an extreme dislike of garlic, but also of onions, leeks, chives, and shallots.
An intensive anxiety or strong concern about the possible opinions or criticisms of others: James has an allodoxaphobia about people who have negative views concerning what he is striving to accomplish in his research regarding making vocabulary words easier to comprehend.
An angst or dread of going bald: Robert was getting on in age and terribly distressed about losing the hair on his scalp and so, as a result of his alopeciaphobia, he was looking for a wig that would conceal his phalacrosis!
An intense dread of failure: Joan was very good in school and hated getting poor grades, especially since her parents expected top achievements in all of her subjects at school, and because of this stress, she developed an alychiphobia.
An excessive horror of contaminations and germs: Those suffering from amathophobia also include dust as part of their anxieties.
Some people who are affected with amathophobia keep the windows in their residences closed at all times and install elaborate air-filtering equipment.
There are also individuals who constantly wipe surfaces and clean their living quarters so often that they may be considered to have an obsessive-compulsive disorder known as amathophobia.
Because personal hygiene is a means of controlling infectious diseases, the absence of dirt is not merely an esthetic adornment. Cleanliness is no doubt an acquired taste.
An excessive fear of being in, meeting in, driving in, or riding in certain kinds of vehicles or of vehicles in general: Joan developed an amaxophobia after being in the terrible car accident and since then could not drive or be driven in a car again.
Someone who over defines terms and over determines states of affairs out of a compulsive fear of being misunderstood: An ambiguphobe may often say, "Let me make this perfectly clear" or "I want to make very sure that there's no misunderstanding of what I'm saying."
An abhorence of not having oneself explicitly understood: Jack was certainly affected by ambiguphobia when his parents evidently didn't listen carefully when he had told them when they were to pick him up after school and he had had to walk home in the bitter coldness of the night.
ambiguphobic (adjective), more ambiguphobic, most ambiguphobic
A reference to someone who overly defines terms and situations because of a compulsive dread of not being correctly understood: Susan was known to be ambiguphobic in that she explained everything in a very detailed way in order to avoid being misinterpreted or misjudged.
An abnormal concern of walking anywhere, anytime: Doug was getting older with time and, being a senior citizen and having developed an ambulophobia, he tried to avoid going places by foot because he dreaded falling down, not being able get up again, or even breaking his bones!
1. The panic a person has of not being able to remember things, which is commonly related to the development of Alzheimer’s disease: Becky's mother developed an amnesiophobia after a head injury caused by the car accident and wanted to write down everything so she wouldn't forget important dates, places, names of friends, etc.
2. There are essentially two basic types of forgetfulness that people are afraid of:
No, doctor, I don't ever remember having amnesia.
2. There are essentially two basic types of forgetfulness that people are afraid of:
- The inability to form new recollections in which the individual either does not consolidate what is perceived into permanent retention storage or cannot retrieve recent memories.
- The loss of remembering certain events that occurred before this mental disturbance started.
amphiphobic (adjective), more amphiphobic, most amphiphobic
Denoting a molecule consisting of detergents, or wetting agents, that contain groups with characteristically different properties: Two examples of such amphiphobic structural units of an element contain both hydrophilic and hydrophobic features.
A morbid nervousness of being lacerated, scratched, or clawed, especially by cats or dogs: For those who have severe allergic reactions to animal scratches, animal hair, or fleas, such an amychophobia is justified.
