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
bibliophobia (s) (noun), bibliophobias (pl)
An excessive fear, or dread, of books either because of the embarrassment of one's illiteracy or because he or she thinks publications are too influential in making people go in the directions as indicated by the authors: Some adults have bibliophobias because they can't hold down a job or can't perform other daily tasks which involve a great deal of reading.
blennophobia, myxophobia (s) (noun); blennophobias, myxophobias (pl)
An excessive fear of slime which may be a result of the fear of eating certain foods: Oysters and snails are two examples of viscous animals that can cause blennophobia or myxophobia.
blenophobia (s) (noun), blenophobias (pl)
An abnormal fear of pins and needles: Eve had a strong blenophobia because of the pain that was caused when she was a child and had accidentally knocked over her mother's sewing box at night, and then walked on some of the metal objects with sharp points!
bogyphobia (s) (noun), bogyphobias (pl)
A horror about demons, goblins, or spirits: After James had read a book and watched a movie about fiends and ghouls, he had a nightmare one night about them and developed bogyphobia and was terrified at the thought of any such creature!
borborygamiphobia (s) (noun), borborygamiphobias (pl)
A dread that other people will hear the rumbling, gurgling, etc. in his or her stomach or intestines that are produced by gas in the alimentary canal and which are audible at a distance: Some individuals who have borborygamiphobia are so afraid that others will hear these sounds that they become social phobics and avoid public gatherings or even being around others, especially after eating.

botanophobia (s) (noun), botanophobias (pl)
An abnormal or excessive fear of plants in general or of specific plants: Botanophobia can be noticed in the definite aversion of poison ivy and poison oak.
botophobia (s) (noun), botophobias (pl)
A horror of cellars or basements: Some people are afflicted with botophobia because they envisage such places for keeping the dead before burial.
bradycardiaphobia (s) (noun), bradycardiaphobias (pl)
A fear of one's heart beating extremely slow and therefore he or she being close to death: Pearl was told by her doctor that having bradycardiaphobia was not necessarily deadly, however it might be a secondary reaction that sometimes follows an initial phase of rapid heartbeats after a blood-injury.
bromidrosiphobia (s) (noun), bromidrosiphobias (pl)
A mental disorder in which there is an abnormal fear of personal body odors, either of one's own or that of others: Bromidrosiphobia includes extreme anxiety or dread that he or she has a vile smell and it is often accompanied by shame, embarrassment, significant distress, and social isolation even when such fears are really not justified.

When a person has bromidrosiphobia he or she often takes an excessive number of baths or showers in hopes that such a smell will no longer be present.

brontephobia, brontophobia (s) (noun); brontephobias, brontophobias (pl)
An exaggerated terror of thunder and thunderstorms: Those who experience brontephobia, and of lightning as well, usually stay in sections of buildings away from the outside sounds and sights during such violent weather conditions whenever possible.
brontophobic (adjective), more brontophobic, most brontophobic
A reference to someone who is near or in a storm which causes the individual to feel out of control: The brontophobic person becomes not only terribly fearful during a blizzard but also by the forecast that one is coming, and so he or she will pull down the window shades and close the shutters well in advance of the arrival of rain, snow, or lightning and thunder.
bruxophobia (s) (noun), bruxophobias (pl)
An abnormal aversion of grinding the teeth together because of the damage or pain which excessive teeth grinding or jaw clenching might cause: Bruxophobia occurs when someone is afraid that he or she could have oral health complications brought on by dentition grating, therefore causing impairment, injury, or other oral health complications.

Because pressing the two jawbones together often occurs during sleep, most people are unaware that they grate their teeth, however a dull, constant headache or sore jaw when someone wakes up is a revealing symptom which can cause bruxophobia.

brychophobia, brykophobia (s) (noun); brychophobias, brykophobias (pl)
An abnormal hatred and fear of being around people who eat in a ravenous or voracious style: When Pamela goes to restaurants, she is greatly disturbed and has brychophobia when the children of some families gobble their food as if they are starving.
cacohydrophobia (s) (noun), cacohydrophobias (pl)
1. A dread of consuming bad water or of being contaminated or infected in some way by it: Because of her cacohydrophobia, Evelyn always carried a bottle of juice with her in order to avoid drinking the impure liquid from a public fountain.
2. An abnormal fear of being exposed to water from the cloaca or waste pipes: Even though she enjoyed the walking tours of the large and ancient city, Lois would not go on the historical sewer walk because of her cacohydrophobia of the polluted liquid that was still there.
cainophobia, cainotophobia, kainophobia, kainotophobia (s) (noun) (no plural)
An excessive fear of anything new, or a novelty of change: Mrs. Timmons loved her life with having a cup of coffee in the morning, doing gardening in the afternoon, and enjoying her favourite TV series at 5 every day, and any variation or departure from her regular life structure caused her to have kainophoiba!

Many people feel secure in their lives by doing things in the same ways and places every day, and so they have cainophobia or atychiphobia when they are required to do anything in a different way other than what is normal for them.