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phobia

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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.
Use phobia in a Sentence
Origin:
1780–90; extracted from nouns ending in -phobia

Synonyms:
aversion, hatred.
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-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:
< L < Gk, equiv. to -phob(os) -phobe + -ia -ia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To phobia
pho·bi·a   (fō'bē-ə)   
n.  

  1. A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous.

  2. A strong fear, dislike, or aversion.


[From -phobia.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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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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- "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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pho·bia
Pronunciation: 'fO-bE-&
Function: noun
: an exaggerated and often disabling fear usually inexplicable to the subject andhaving sometimes a logical but usually an illogical or symbolic object, class of objects, or situation —compare COMPULSION, OBSESSION
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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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