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 excessive fear of taking risks: Much affected by a riskfactorphobia, Mrs. James only ate food she grew in her own garden, and never invested any of her money in the overly volatile stock market.
An excessive prejudice of Russians or Russian motives, culture, language, etc.: Russophobia, or anti-Russian sentiment, covers the dislikes, fears, derisions, and negative feelings associated with everything Russian which are, sadly to say, still observed in today's relations with Russia.
A dread of Halloween or the fear of the festival of the dead: Mrs. Marsh feared the upcoming date of October 31 because she had the condition of samhainophobia and had a strong dislike of the revelry at the beginning of the dark period of the year with people dressed in costumes to disguise themselves, like ghosts intending to do harm.
A disgust of lovemaking: The dislike or revulsion of love, play, or seduction, termed sarmassophobia found mostly among women, can cause them emotional or moral sensitivity, discomfort, and distress.
According to Charles Elster, in his There's a Word for It!, "It's curious that there doesn't seem to be a word for this phobia among men".
An excessive horror of Satan: The people described in the story Mark was reading were all suffering from satanophobia, and were terrified of devils and demons and of their control over them, and thought that they would be safe by going to church every Sunday.
An excessive fear of getting the "seven-year itch": Jill had a scabophobia because she saw how much her neighbor's little son suffered from the horrible skin infection and she didn't want to see her little girl go through such agony!
1. An intense hatred of obscene or filthy language: Susan didn't want to have acquaintances who used indecent and offensive vocabulary on account of her having scatophobia, and choose friends that were modest and refined.
2. An excessive fear of being around excrement: Because Judy had scatophobia, she decided not to work on the farm because of her contact with the faeces of the animals.
2. An excessive fear of being around excrement: Because Judy had scatophobia, she decided not to work on the farm because of her contact with the faeces of the animals.
An excessive detestation of bad men: People who have scelerophobia are horrified of being attacked and harmed by wicked people, such as burglars, rapists, robbers, murderers, or other criminals.
An abnormal loathing of shadows: Little Amy, affected by sciaphobia, never liked to go out when it was dusk, and especially not at night when it was totally dark, because she was unnaturally afraid of seeing shapes or apparitions, thinking they might be scary ghosts!
An irrational dread of worms: Susan never liked helping her mother do the gardening because she had a bad case of scoleciphobia and was horrified at seeing the long, thin, slimy soft-bodied animals, and terrified of perhaps stepping on one!
A fear of going to school: Doug finally made some friends at school and got over his scolionophobia and didn't dread going away from the security of his home and parents anymore!
An anxiety disorder characterized by a morbid dread of being seen or stared at by others: Scopophobia can arise from a traumatic occurrence in childhood, or when mocked or taunted as a child, or perhaps it is due to a physical disability, causing that person to avoid being in public gatherings.
The condition is commonly seen in people who are suffering with schizophrenia.
A person very troubled with being seen or being stared at: Janet, having the indications of being a scopophobiac, was a beautiful girl, very quiet and reserved, but she didn't want to be looked at or noticed, so she dressed in dark clothes, didn't wear any makeup, and let her hair hang straight down, hoping that nobody would notice her.
An abnormal apprehension of having blind areas in the visual field: Because Mary's mother had an eye illness, Mary had scotomaphobia, totally afraid of having disturbances in her sight, like macula degeneration, and not being able to see everything perfectly.
An abnormal or exaggerated dread of the night or darkness: When it was dusk, Mrs. Simmons, suffering from scotophobia, always pulled the curtains closed in her house and turned on all the lights because she feared the blackness of the evening hours
