The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear (Nelson Mandela)

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A phobia is defined as ‘an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something’.

You are probably aware of the more common phobias, such as arachnophobia (fear of spiders),
claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces),
and agoraphobia (fear of open places),
but did you know there are also words which describe the fear of idleness, worms, and even body odour?

Explore the table below to discover the terms for some of the more interesting phobias you may come across.
Although if you suffer from logophobia (a fear of words), it’s probably best to step away from this blog now…
in fact, our dictionary site may be your worst nightmare!

The Fear of

Air travel : Aerophobia
American people and things : Americophobia
Animals : Zoophobia
Bacteria : Bacteriophobia
Beards : Pogonophobia
Beating : Mastigophobia
Bed : Clinophobia
Bees : Apiphobia
Birds : Ornithophobia
Blood : Haemophobia
Blushing : Erythrophobia
Body odour : Bromidrosiphobia
Bridges : Gephyrophobia
Bullets : Ballistophobia
Buried alive : Taphephobia

Cancer : Carcinophobia
Cats : Ailurophobia
Childbirth : Tocophobia
Children : Paedophobia
Chinese people and things : Sinophobia
Church : Ecclesiophobia
Clouds : Nephophobia
Cold : Cheimaphobia
Colour : Chromophobia
Comets : Cometophobia
Computers : Cyberphobia
Constipation : Coprostasophobia
Corpses : Necrophobia
Correspondence : Epistolophobia
Crowds : Demophobia/ochlophobia
br/> Dampness : Hygrophobia
Darkness : Scotophobia
Dawn : Eosophobia
Death : Thanatophobia
Depth : Bathophobia
Dirt : Mysophobia
Disease : Pathophobia/Nosophobia
Dogs : Cynophobia
Dreams : Oneirophobia Drink : Potophobia
Drugs : Pharmacophobia
Dust : Koniophobia

Electricity : Electrophobia
Enclosed places : Claustrophobia
English people and things : Anglophobia
Everything : Panophobia/Pantophobia
Eyes : Ommetaphobia

Faeces : Coprophobia
Failure : Kakorrhaphiaphobia
Fatigue : Kopophobia
Fear : Phobophobia
Feathers : Pteronophobia
Fever : Febriphobia
Fire : Pyrophobia
Fish : Ichthyophobia
Flesh : Selaphobia
Floods : Antlophobia
Flowers : Anthophobia
Fog : Homichlophobia
Food : Cibophobia/Sitophobia
Foreigners : Xenophobia
Freedom : Eleutherophobia
French people and things : Francophobia/Gallophobia
Fur : Doraphobia

German people and things : Germanophobia/Teutophobia
Germs : Bacteriophobia
Ghosts : Phasmophobia
Glass : Nelophobia
God : Theophobia
Gold : Chrysophobia/Aurophobia

Hair : Trichophobia
Heart disease : Cardiophobia
Heat : Thermophobia
Heaven : Uranophobia
Hell : Hadephobia/Stygiophobia
Heredity : Patroiophobia
High buildings : Batophobia
High places : Acrophobia/Hypsophobia
Home : Oikophobia
Homosexuals : Homophobia
Horses : Hippophobia

Ice : Cryophobia
Ideas : Ideophobia
Idleness : Thassophobia
Illness : Nosophobia
Imperfection : Atelophobia
Infinity : Apeirophobia
Injury : Traumatophobia
Inoculation : Trypanophobia/Vaccinophobia
Insanity : Lyssophobia/Maniphobia
Insects : Entomophobia
Insect stings : Cnidophobia
Italian people and things : Italophobia
Itching : Acarophobia

Jealousy : Zelotypophobia
Justice : Dikephobia
Lakes : Limnophobia
Leprosy : Leprophobia
Lice : Pediculophobia
Light : Photophobia
Lightning : Astrapophobia
Lists : Pinaciphobia/Katastichophobia
Loneliness : Autophobia/Ermitophobia

Machinery : Mechanophobia
Magic : Rhabdophobia
Marriage : Gamophobia
Men : Androphobia
Metal : Metallophobia
Mice : Musophobia
Microbes : Bacillophobia/Microbiophobia
Mirrors : Eisoptrophobia
Mites : Acarophobia
Mobs : Ochlophobia
Money : Chrematophobia
Monsters, giving birth to : Teratophobia
Motion : Kinetophobia
Music : Musicophobia

Names : Onomatophobia
Narrowness : Anginophobia
Needles : Belonephobia
New things : Neophobia
Night : Nyctophobia
Nudity : Gymnophobia

Open places : Agoraphobia

Pain : Algophobia
Parasites : Parasitophobia
People : Anthropophobia
Philosophy : Philosophobia
Pins : Enetophobia
Places : Topophobia
Pleasure : Hedonophobia
Poison : Toxiphobia
Politics : Politicophobia
Pope : Papaphobia
Poverty : Peniaphobia
Precipices : Cremnophobia
Priests : Hierophobia
Punishment : Poinephobia

Rabies : Hydrophobophobia
Rail travel : Siderodromophobia
Religious works of art : Iconophobia
Reptiles : Batrachophobia
Responsibility : Hypegiaphobia
Ridicule : Katagelophobia
Rivers : Potamophobia
Robbers : Harpaxophobia
Ruin : Atephobia
Russian people and things : Russophobia

Saints : Hagiophobia
Satan : Satanophobia
Scabies : Scabiophobia
Scottish people and things : Scotophobia
Sea : Thalassophobia
Sex : Erotophobia
Sexual intercourse : Coitophobia ; Genophobia
Shadows : Sciophobia
Sharpness : Acrophobia
Shock : Hormephobia
Sin : Hamartophobia
Skin disease : Dermatosiophobia/Dermatopathophobia
Sleep : Hypnophobia
Slime : Blennophobia
Small things : Microphobia
Smell : Olfactophobia/Osmophobia
Smothering : Pnigerophobia
Snakes : Ophidiophobia
Snow : Chionophobia
Solitude : Eremophobia
Sound : Acousticophobia
Sourness : Acerophobia
Speech : Lalophobia/Laliophobia/Glossophobia/Phonophobia
Speed : Tachophobia
Spiders : Arachnophobia
Standing : Stasophobia
Stars : Siderophobia
Stealing : Kleptophobia
String : Linonophobia
Stuttering : Lalophobia/Laliophobia
Sun : Heliophobia
Swallowing : Phagophobia
Symmetry : Symmetrophobia

Taste : Geumatophobia
Technology : Technophobia
Teeth : Odontophobia
Telephone : Telephonophobia
Thinking : Phronemophobia
Thirteen : Triskaidekaphobia
Thunder : Brontophobia/Tonitrophobia/Keraunophobia
Time : Chronophobia
Touch : Haptophobia
Travel : Hodophobia
Tuberculosis : Phthisiophobia
Tyrants : Tyrannophobia

Vehicles : Ochophobia
Venereal disease : Syphilophobia
Voids : Kenophobia
Vomiting : Emetophobia

Water : Hydrophobia
Waves : Cyrnophobia
Weakness : Asthenophobia
Wind : Anemophobia
Women : Gynophobia
Words : Logophobia
Work : Ergophobia
Worms : Helminthophobia
Writing : Graphophobia


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