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The combining form -phobe is used like a suffix to indicate the personal noun form of words that use the form -phobia, meaning “fear.” The form -phobe roughly means “someone with a fear.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in psychology and biology.

The form -phobe comes from Greek ���ó���Dz�, meaning “fear” or “panic.” The Latin translation is timor, “fear,” which is the source of words such as timid and timorous.

What are variants of –phobe?

A less common variant of -phobe is -phobiac, as in agoraphobiac.

The form -phobe is also related to two other combining forms: -phobia and -phobic. Want to know more? Check out our �y��vlogs that Use articles for each form.

An example of a scientific term that features -phobe is hydrophobe, “a hydrophobic, or water-repelling, substance.”

The hydro- part of the word likely looks familiar; it means “water,” from Greek ��ý��ō��. The -phobe part of the term means “someone with a fear,” and hydrophobe literally translates to “water-fearer.”

What are some words that use the combining form –phobe?

• aelurophobe
• arachnophobe
• germaphobe
• homophobe
• technophobe
• xenophobe

What are some other forms that -phobe may be commonly confused with?

• -phone
• -phony
• -phore

The combining form xeno- means “alien” or “strange.” With this in mind, what does xenophobe mean?