phobo-, phob-, -phobia, -phobias, -phobe, -phobiac, -phobist, -phobic, -phobism, -phobous

An abnormal apprehension of stuttering: Toby had psellismophobia and, when he was in class at school, he was afraid of speaking up, fearing the humiliation and possible ridicule from his peers, but he could sing very well with the others with no problem at all!

1. An excessive fear of what is assumed to be hydrophobia, but which may only seem to be hydrophobia: Some individuals suffering from pseudohydrophobia have an exaggerated and irrational animosity towards rabies, imagining that the disease is present, and therefore they don't drink any water, thinking that it is contaminated with rabies and can cause throat pains.
2. Any viral disease that has symptoms similar to rabies, but which is not: When Jane took her dog which showed symptoms of the infectious disease to the vet, the condition turned out to be just a pseudophydrohobia and quite harmless and easy to cure!

A pathological fear of the mind or psyche: Mrs. Jackson went to her family doctor because she was afraid that she was becoming mentally ill, not remember things, being confused, not knowing where she put things, and all of this causing her to have psychophobia.

1. An abnormal dread of cold conditions, such as cold weather: Helen really hated to go to school during winter because of her psychrophobia.

People who have psychrophobia tend to keep their houses very warm, overdress, and avoid eating or drinking things that are cold or have crushed ice or ice cubes.

2. An excessive aversion or sensitiveness to anything that is cold: The symptoms of psychrophobia can include extreme anxiety, dread and anything associated with panic, such as shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, immoderate sweating, and shaking.

Sam's psychrophobia always prevented him from accepting any drinks with ice cubes in them.

3. Etymology: from Greek psychr-, "cold" + -phobia, "fear, dread." © ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

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1. A reference to an extreme sensitiveness to cold: James was very psychrophobic in that he wouldn't go outside in winter because of the icy temperatures and the fear of falling on ice!
2. Descriptive of a morbid dread of cold: Ginny, being psychrophobic, came from a place with a very warm climate and couldn't stand the freezing temperatures and bitter icy wind when visiting her relatives in Canada during the winter!

An excessive aversion of feathers: Beatrice had pteronophobia and avoided birds, chickens, parrots, etc. and didn't have any down in her pillows thinking that she would sneeze or incur red eyes.

An "internal writhing" or pathological hatred that someone is watching the subject's behind or one's rump: Becky had a very good figure, but, suffering from pygoscopophobia, certainly had an intense dislike of men looking at her bottom, so she tried to wear very simple and dark clothes.

An excessive dread of having a fever: Daisy's mother suffered from pyrexeophobia because she feared having a bad illness with a high temperature and wouldn't be able to take care of her children.

An intense fear of flares, watching fires, or an extraordinary fear that someone would start blazes: Mac was terrified of being near anything that could cause flames, including matches, cigarette lighters, fireplaces, etc. because his pyrophobia came about when he barely escaped being burned to death in his house as a small child. © ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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Relating to an intense horror of fire: Bruce has a pyrophobic condition and doesn't want to have a fireplace in his home fearing that his house might burn down.

An excessive anxiety of radiation: Hannah had radiophobia and was extremely fearful of X-rays and the ensuing harm they could cause.

1. An irrational dread of being beaten or a general fear of clubs: Jack, the boy in the story, had rhabdophobia and always ran away from his parents when they had rods, sticks or switches, afraid that he would be punished with them!
2. Anxiety about being criticized or punished: Mildred, suffering from rhabdophobia, was extremely frightened of being chastened by her teacher, Mrs. Hard, when she checked her homework and found a mistake because then she would be rapped on her knuckles!
3. An apprehension of magic: Some sources say that rhabdophobia is a horror of sorcery, witchcraft, or of conjuration and causing terrible things to happen!

In biology, intolerant of running water: The eggs of female mosquitos are considered to be rheophobous because they can only survive and grow in stagnant water, like in lakes or even in puddles, but never in flowing streams or rivers.

1. An extreme fear of filth, defecation, or of being soiled: Because of her dread of germs, Anita, having rhypophobia, had her used dishtowels put into the laundry every day, and had very clean and fresh ones to use in the kitchen every morning.
2. An abnormal aversion of dirt or filth: Mrs. Clean explained to her cleaning lady that she had rypophobia and put a lot of emphasis on having her home fresh, hygienic, and spotless!

This phobia may be related to fears of contamination and germs and therefore to fears of using public toilet facilities.

An excessive apprehension of getting wrinkles: Many women afflicted with rhytiphobia fear the lines and creases that appear on the face, especially around the eyes and mouth and such furrows are undesirable because they represent ageing, and there are some who seek reconstructive cosmetic surgery so they can appear more youthful.