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phobia
1[ foh-bee-uh ]
noun
- an intense, persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, situation, or person that manifests in physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, rapid heartbeat, or shortness of breath, and that motivates avoidance behavior.
- an aversion toward, dislike of, or disrespect for a thing, idea, person, or group.
-phobia
2- a combining form meaning “fear,†occurring in loanwords from Greek ( hydrophobia ); on this model, used in the names of anxiety disorders that have the general sense “dread of, aversion toward†that specified by the initial element ( agoraphobia ); on the same model, used in words that name hostility toward a thing or idea, or a specific group, with the sense “antipathy toward or dislike of, disrespect or disdain for†the object or people specified by the initial element ( technophobia ; xenophobia ).
-phobia
1combining form
- indicating an extreme abnormal fear of or aversion to
claustrophobia
acrophobia
phobia
2/ ˈ´Úəʊ²úɪə /
noun
- psychiatry an abnormal intense and irrational fear of a given situation, organism, or object
phobia
- An extreme and often unreasonable fear of some object, concept, situation, or person.
Derived Forms
- -phobic, combining_form:in_adjective
˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins
˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins
Origin of phobia1
Origin of phobia2
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Related ˜yÐÄvlogs
˜yÐÄvlogs That Use -phobia
What does -phobia mean?
The combining form -phobia is used like a suffix meaning “fear.†It is often used in scientific terms, especially in psychology and biology.
The form -phobia comes from Greek ±è³óó²ú´Ç²õ, 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 –phobia?
While -phobia doesn’t have any variants, it is related to two other combining forms: -phobic and -phobe. Want to know more? Check out our ˜yÐÄvlogs that Use articles for each form.
Examples of -phobia
An example of a word you may have encountered that features -phobia ¾±²õÌýagoraphobia, “an irrational or disproportionate fear of being in crowds, public places, or open areas.â€
The agora- part of the word comes from Greek ²¹²µ´Ç°ùÄåÌ, meaning “assembly†or “marketplace.†And -phobia means “fear,†as we’ve seen. So, agoraphobia literally translates to “fear of the marketplace.â€
What are some words that use the combining form –phobia?
What are some other forms that -phobia may be commonly confused with?
Break it down!
The combining form hydro- means “water.†With this in mind, what does the scientific term hydrophobia mean in everyday language?
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