List of phobias

The English suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe (from Greek φόβος phobos, "fear") occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, abnormal, unwarranted, persistent, or disabling fear as a mental disorder (e.g. agoraphobia), in chemistry to describe chemical aversions (e.g. hydrophobic), in biology to describe organisms that dislike certain conditions (e.g. acidophobia), and in medicine to describe hypersensitivity to a stimulus, usually sensory (e.g. photophobia). In common usage, they also form words that describe dislike or hatred of a particular thing or subject (e.g. homophobia). The suffix is antonymic to -phil-.

For more information on the psychiatric side, including how psychiatry groups phobias such as agoraphobia, social phobia, or simple phobia, see phobia. The following lists include words ending in -phobia, and include fears that have acquired names. In some cases, the naming of phobias has become a word game, of notable example being a 1998 humorous article published by BBC News.^[1] In some cases, a word ending in -phobia may have an antonym with the suffix -phil-, e.g. Germanophobe/Germanophile.

A large number of -phobia lists circulate on the Internet, with words collected from indiscriminate sources, often copying each other. Also, a number of psychiatric websites exist that at the first glance cover a huge number of phobias, but in fact use a standard text to fit any phobia and reuse it for all unusual phobias by merely changing the name. Sometimes it leads to bizarre results, such as suggestions to cure "prostitute phobia".^[2] Such practice is known as content spamming and is used to attract search engines.

An article published in 1897 in American Journal of Psychology noted "the absurd tendency to give Greek names to objects feared (which, as Arndt says, would give us such terms as klopsophobia – fear of thieves, triakaidekaphobia – fear of the number 13....".^[3]

Psychological conditions

Specialists may prefer to avoid the suffix -phobia and use more descriptive terms such as personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and avoidant personality disorder. Terms should strictly have a Greek prefix although many are irregularly formed with Latin or even English prefixes. Many use inaccurate or imprecise prefixes, such as aerophobia (fear of air) for fear of flying.

A

Ablutophobia – fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning
Acousticophobia – fear of noise – a branch of phonophobia
Acrophobia – fear of heights
Aerophobia – fear of aircraft or flying
Agoraphobia – fear of open places
Agyrophobia – fear of crossing streets
Aichmophobia – fear of sharp or pointed objects such as a needle or knife
Ailurophobia – fear of cats
Alektorophobia - fear of chickens
Algophobia – fear of pain
Ancraophobia – fear of wind or drafts
Androphobia – fear of adult men^[4]
Anthropophobia – fear of people or the company of people, a form of social phobia
Aquaphobia – fear of water. Distinct from hydrophobia, a scientific property that makes chemicals averse to interaction with water, as well as an archaic name for rabies
Arachnophobia – fear of spiders
Astraphobia – fear of thunder and lightning
Autophobia – fear of isolation^[5]

B

Basophobia, basiphobia – fear associated with astasia-abasia (fear of walking/standing erect) and a fear of falling
Blood-injection-injury type phobia – a DSM-IV subtype of specific phobias

C

Carcinophobia – fear of cancer
Cardiophobia – fear of heart or heart disease
Chemophobia – fear of chemicals
Cherophobia – fear of happiness
Chiroptophobia – fear of bats
Chromophobia, chromatophobia – fear of colors
Chronophobia – fear of time and time moving forward
Cibophobia, sitophobia – aversion to food, synonymous to anorexia nervosa
Claustrophobia – fear of having no escape and being closed in
Coimetrophobia – fear of cemeteries
Colorphobia – Chromophobia
Coprophobia – fear of feces or defecation^[4]
Coulrophobia – fear of clowns (not restricted to evil clowns)
Cyberphobia – fear/aversion to computers and the Internet and/or of learning new technologies
Cynophobia – fear of dogs

D

Decidophobia – fear of making decisions
Demonophobia, daemonophobia – fear of demons
Dentophobia, odontophobia – fear of dentists and dental procedures
Dysmorphophobia, body dysmorphic disorder – a phobic obsession with a real or imaginary body defect

E

Eisoptrophobia – fear of mirrors or seeing one's reflection in a mirror^[6]^[7]
Eurotophobia – aversion to female genitals
Emetophobia – fear of vomiting
Enochlophobia – fear of crowds
Ephebiphobia – fear of youth; inaccurate, exaggerated and sensational characterization of young people
Ergophobia, ergasiophobia – fear of work or functioning, or a surgeon's fear of operating
Erotophobia – fear of sexual love or sexual abuse
Erythrophobia, erytophobia, ereuthophobia – fear of the color red, or fear of blushing

F

Frigophobia – fear of becoming too cold

G

Gamophobia – fear of cohabitation, marriage or nuptials
Gelotophobia – fear of being laughed at
Gephyrophobia – fear of bridges
Genophobia, coitophobia – fear of sexual intercourse
Genuphobia – fear of knees or the act of kneeling
Gerascophobia – fear of growing old or aging
Gerontophobia – fear of growing old, or a hatred or fear of the elderly
Globophobia – fear of balloons
Glossophobia – fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak
Gymnophobia – fear of nudity^[8]
Gynophobia – fear of women

H

Halitophobia – fear of bad breath
Haphephobia – fear of being touched
Hedonophobia – fear of obtaining pleasure
Heliophobia – fear of the sun or sunlight
Hemophobia, haemophobia – fear of blood
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – fear of the number 666
Hodophobia – fear of travel
Hoplophobia – fear of firearms
Hypnophobia, somniphobia – fear of sleep^[9]

I

Ichthyophobia – fear of fish, including fear of eating fish, or fear of dead fish

K

Koumpounophobia – fear of buttons^[10]

L

Lilapsophobia – fear of tornadoes or hurricanes

M

Mageirocophobia – fear of cooking
Melanophobia – fear of the color black
Melissophobia, apiphobia – fear of bees
Monophobia – fear of being alone or isolated or of one's self
Musophobia, murophobia, suriphobia – fear of mice or rats
Myrmecophobia – fear of ants
Mysophobia – fear of germs, contamination or dirt

N

Necrophobia – fear of death or the dead
Neophobia, cainophobia, cainotophobia, centophobia, kainolophobia, kainophobia, metathesiophobia, prosophobia – fear of newness, novelty, change or progress
Nomophobia – fear of being out of mobile phone contact
Nosocomephobia – fear of hospitals
Nosophobia – fear of contracting a disease
Nostophobia, ecophobia – fear of returning home
Numerophobia – fear of numbers
Nyctophobia, achluophobia, lygophobia, scotophobia – fear of darkness

O

Oikophobia – fear of home surroundings and household appliances
Oneirophobia – fear of dreams
Ophidiophobia – fear of snakes
Ophthalmophobia – fear of being stared at
Osmophobia, olfactophobia – fear of odors

P

Panphobia – fear of everything or constant fear of an unknown cause
Pedophobia, paedophobia, pediaphobia – fear of babies and children
Phagophobia – fear of swallowing
Phallophobia – fear of erections
Pharmacophobia – fear of medications
Phasmophobia – fear of ghosts or phantoms
Philophobia – fear of love
Phobophobia – fear of fear itself or of having a phobia
Phonophobia – fear of loud sounds or voices
Pogonophobia – fear of beards
Pornophobia – dislike or fear of pornography; may be used in reference to the opposition to visual nudity
Pyrophobia – fear of fire

R

Radiophobia – fear of radioactivity or X-rays
Roller coaster phobia – fear of roller coasters

S

Scopophobia – fear of being looked at or stared at
Sexophobia – fear of sexual organs or sexual activities
Siderodromophobia – fear of trains or railroads
Sociophobia – fear of people or social situations
Spectrophobia – fear of mirrors
Stasiphobia – fear of standing or walking

T

Taphophobia, taphephobia – fear of the grave, or fear of being placed in a grave while still alive
Technophobia – fear of advanced technology (see also Luddite)
Telephone phobia – fear or reluctance of making or taking telephone calls
Teratophobia – fear of disfigured people
Tetraphobia – fear of the number 4
Thalassophobia – fear of the sea, or fear of being in the ocean
Thanatophobia – fear of dying
Thermophobia – intolerance to high temperatures
Tokophobia – fear of childbirth or pregnancy
Tomophobia - fear of invasive medical procedure^[11]
Toxiphobia – fear of being poisoned
Traumatophobia – a synonym for injury phobia: fear of having an injury
Trichophobia – delusional fear of something in the roots of the hair that stops it from growing,^[12] or fear of hair loss
Triskaidekaphobia, terdekaphobia – fear of the number 13
Trypanophobia, belonephobia, enetophobia – fear of needles or injections
Trypophobia – fear of holes or textures with a pattern of holes^[13]

V

Vehophobia – fear of driving

W

Workplace phobia – fear of the workplace

X

Xanthophobia – fear of the color yellow
Xenophobia – fear of strangers, foreigners, or aliens

Animal phobias

Ailurophobia – fear/dislike of cats
Arachnophobia – fear/dislike of spiders and other arachnids
Batrachophobia – fear/dislike of frogs and other amphibians
Chiroptophobia – fear/dislike of bats
Cynophobia – fear/dislike of dogs
Entomophobia – fear/dislike of insects
Helminthophobia – fear of worms
Herpetophobia – fear/dislike of reptiles or amphibians
Hippophobia – fear/dislike of horses
Ichthyophobia – fear/dislike of fish
Melissophobia, apiphobia – fear/dislike of bees
Murophobia – fear/dislike of mice or rats
Ophidiophobia – fear/dislike of snakes
Ornithophobia – fear/dislike of birds
Ranidaphobia – fear/dislike of frogs
Scoleciphobia – fear of worms
Spheksophobia – fear of wasps
Zoophobia – fear of animals

Non-psychological conditions

Bibliophobia – fear or hatred of books, as a cultural phenomenon^[14]
Hoplophobia – a political term for fear of weapons, specifically firearms
Lipophobia – avoidance of fats in food[15][16][17] ()
Osmophobia – hypersensitivity to smells causing aversion to odors
Phonophobia – hypersensitivity to sound causing aversion to sounds
Photophobia – hypersensitivity to light causing aversion to light

Biology, chemistry

Biologists use a number of -phobia/-phobic terms to describe predispositions by plants and animals against certain conditions. For antonyms, see here

Acidophobia/Acidophobic – preference for non-acidic conditions
Heliophobia/Heliophobic – aversion to sunlight
Hydrophobia/Hydrophobic – a property of being repelled by water
Lipophobicity – a property of fat rejection (sometimes also called lipophobia)
Oleophobicity – a property of oil rejection
Photophobia (biology) – a negative phototaxis or phototropism response, or a tendency to stay out of the light
Superhydrophobe – the property given to materials that are extremely difficult to get wet
Thermophobia – aversion to heat

Prejudices and discrimination

Racist and xenophobic sentiments

The suffix -phobia is used to coin terms that denote a particular anti-ethnic or anti-demographic sentiment, such as Americanophobia, Europhobia, Francophobia, Hispanophobia, and Indophobia. Often a synonym with the prefix "anti-" already exists (e.g. Polonophobia vs. anti-Polonism). Anti-religious sentiments are expressed in terms such as Christianophobia and Islamophobia.

Other prejudices include:

Albanophobia – fear/dislike of Albanians
Anglophobia – fear/dislike of England or English culture
Christianophobia – fear/dislike of Christians
Germanophobia – fear/dislike of Germans
Hinduphobia – fear/dislike of Hindus
Hispanophobia – fear/dislike of Hispanic people, Hispanic culture and the Spanish language
Indophobia – fear/dislike of India or Indian culture
Islamophobia – fear/dislike of Muslims
Judeophobia – fear/dislike of Jews
Lusophobia – fear/dislike of the Portuguese, Portuguese culture and the Portuguese language
Nipponophobia – fear/dislike of the Japanese
Koryophobia – fear/dislike of the Koreans
Polonophobia – fear/dislike of the Polish
Russophobia – fear/dislike of Russians
Shiaphobia – fear/dislike of Shiites
Sinophobia – fear/dislike of Chinese people
Sunniphobia – fear/dislike of Sunnis
Turcophobia – fear/dislike of Turks
Xenophobia – fear/dislike of foreigners

Prejudices against other categories of people

Biphobia – fear/dislike of bisexuality or bisexuals
Ephebiphobia – fear/dislike of youth
Gerontophobia, gerascophobia – fear/dislike of aging or the elderly
Heterophobia – fear/dislike of heterosexuals
Homophobia – fear/dislike of homosexuality, homosexuals, or gays (as opposed to lesbians)
Lesbophobia – fear/dislike of lesbians
Pedophobia – fear/dislike of babies or children
Psychophobia – fear/dislike of mental illness or the mentally ill
Transphobia – fear/dislike of transgender people

References

^ The A–Z of Fear, a 30 October 1998 BBC News unsigned article in the "Entertainment" section
^ "Content Spammers Help You Overcome Prostitute Phobia". Webpronews.com. 25 August 2005. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
^ Hall, G. Stanley (1897). "A Study of Fears". American Journal of Psychology. University of Illinois Press. 8 (2): 157. doi:10.2307/1410940. JSTOR 1410940.
^ ^a ^b Robert Jean Campbell (2009). Campbell's Psychiatric Dictionary. Oxford University Press. pp. 375–. ISBN 978-0-19-534159-1.
^ Gould, Dr. George Milbry (1910). The Practitioner's Medical Dictionary (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: P. Blackiston's Son & Co. p. 100.
^ David Sue; Derald Wing Sue; Diane M. Sue; Stanley Sue (15 February 2013). Essentials of Understanding Abnormal Behavior. Cengage Learning. pp. 126–. ISBN 978-1-285-62475-4.
^ William Pitchot (11 September 2014). "Effective Treatment of Eisoptrophobia With Duloxetine: A Case Report". Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 16 (5). doi:10.4088/PCC.14l01636. PMC 4321006. PMID 25667801.
^ Bullough, Vern L.; Bullough, Bonnie (2014). Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 449. ISBN 9781135825096.
^ Dunglison, Robert; Dunglison, Richard James (1895). Richard James Dunglison, ed. A dictionary of medical science: containing a full explanation of the various subjects and terms of anatomy, physiology, ... (21 ed.). Lea Brothers & Co.
^ Russell, Julia; Lintern, Fiona; Gauntlett, Lizzie (2016-09-01). Cambridge International AS and A Level Psychology Coursebook. Cambridge University Press. p. 144. ISBN 9781316605691. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
^ Schmid, Markus; Wolf, Robert C; Freudenmann, Roland W; Schönfeldt-Lecuona, Carlos (2009-11-18). "Tomophobia, the phobic fear caused by an invasive medical procedure - an emerging anxiety disorder: a case report". Journal of Medical Case Reports. 3: 131. doi:10.1186/1752-1947-3-131. ISSN 1752-1947. PMC 2803803. PMID 20062769.
^ Basavaraj, K. H.; Navya, M. A; Rashmi, R. (2010). "Relevance of psychiatry in dermatology: Present concepts". Indian Journal of Psychiatry. 52 (3): 270–275. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.70992. ISSN 0019-5545. PMC 2990831. PMID 21180416.
^ Thomas, Gregory (15 October 2012). "Do holes make you queasy or even fearful". The Daily Herald. Arlington, IL. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
^ Jackson, Holbrook (1932). The Fear of Books. University of Illinois. ISBN 978-0-252-07040-2.
^ Fischler, C. "From lipophilia to lipophobia. Changing attitudes and behaviors towards fat: a socio-historical approach", in: Dietary fats determinants of preference, selection, and consumption / edited by DJ Mela. London : New York : Elsevier Applied Science, c1992. p. 103-115.
^ Askegaard, S. Ostberg, J. "Consumers' Experience of Lipophobia: A Swedish Study", Advances in Consume Research, 2003, vol. 30, p. 161
^ Askegaard, Søren, Holt, Douglas B. Jensen, Anne F. "Lipophobia: A Transatlantic Concept?" Advances in Consume Research, 1999, vol. 26, issue 1 p. 331-336.