Nearby Words

phobia

[foh-bee-uh] Example Sentences Origin

pho·bi·a

[foh-bee-uh]
noun
a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it.

Origin:
1780–90; extracted from nouns ending in -phobia


aversion, hatred.

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Phobia is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
Example Sentences
  • My phobia? I'm totally scared of bridges.
  • And nothing would do that more than my phobia for heights.
  • The “examination-phobia” of neurotics is also strengthened by this childish fear.
EXPAND
What Are Phobias?
Posted May 22, 2008
Eileen Bailey explores common phobias and how they develop.
Read more at HealthCentral.com
Dictionary.com Unabridged

-phobia

a combining form meaning “fear,” occurring in loanwords from Greek (hydrophobia); on this model, used in the names of mental disorders that have the general sense “dread of, aversion toward” that specified by the initial element: agoraphobia.

Origin:
< Latin < Greek, equivalent to -phob(os) -phobe + -ia -ia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To phobia
Collins
World English Dictionary
phobia (ˈfəʊbɪə)
 
n
psychiatry an abnormal intense and irrational fear of a given situation, organism, or object
 
[C19: from Greek phobos fear]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

phobia
1786, "fear, horror, aversion," Mod.L., abstracted from compounds in -phobia, from Gk. -phobia, from phobos "fear," originally "flight" (still the only sense in Homer), but it became the common word for "fear" via the notion of "panic, fright" (cf. phobein "put to flight, frighten"), from PIE base *bhegw-
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"to run" (cf. Lith. begu "to flee," O.C.S. begu "flight," bezati "to flee, run," O.N. bekkr "a stream"). Psychological sense attested by 1895; phobic (adj.) is from 1897.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

phobia pho·bi·a (fō'bē-ə)
n.

  1. A persistent, abnormal, or irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid the feared stimulus.

  2. A strong fear, dislike, or aversion.

-phobia suff.
An intense, abnormal, or illogical fear of a specified thing: claustrophobia.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
phobia [(foh-bee-uh)]

An extreme and often unreasonable fear of some object, concept, situation, or person.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
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