phobia

1 of 2

noun

pho·​bia ˈfō-bē-ə 

: an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation

-phobia

2 of 2

noun combining form

1

: exaggerated fear of

acrophobia

2

: intolerance or aversion for

photophobia

Examples of phobia in a Sentence

Noun

His fear of crowds eventually developed into a phobia.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Most of these drugs still arrive as a shot, and for people with intense needle phobia that single step can keep a prescribed treatment out of reach. — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 8 Oct. 2026

Long before the cancer, my father, Rajeev, who was 63, avoided conventional medicine with an intensity that bordered on phobia. — Trisha Thadani Kirsten Potter Tanya Pérez Devin Murphy, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

What caught him by surprise was the conversation around fat-phobia that accompanied the film’s release. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Prisoners just always have this phobia of the world moving on from them. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

-phobia

Noun combining form

New Latin, from Late Latin, from Greek, from -phobos fearing, from phobos fear, flight, from phebesthai to flee; akin to Lithuanian bėgti to flee, Old Church Slavic běžati

First Known Use

Noun

1786, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for phobia

• agoraphobia
• claustrophobia
• homophobia
• hydrophobia
• photophobia
• xenophobia
• rhizobia
• phobia

Kids Definition

phobia

noun

pho·​bia ˈfō-bē-ə 

: an unreasonable, abnormal, and lasting fear of something

Medical Definition

phobia

noun

pho·​bia ˈfō-bē-ə 

: an exaggerated and often disabling fear usually inexplicable to the subject and having sometimes a logical but usually an illogical or symbolic object, class of objects, or situation compare compulsion, obsession