ephebiphobia means an irrational fear of adolescent people. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “ephebiphobia” is a great word
EPHEBIPHOBIA — [Noun] An irrational fear of adolescent people. From the Ancient Greek ἔφηβος (éphēbos, "youth") and -phobia ("fear"). Coined in 1994 by Kirk Astroth. Unlike pedophobia (which fixates on the perceived vulnerability of childhood) or gerontophobia (which recoils from the emblem of age), ephebiphobia is a dread of the liminal figure, caught between innocence and authority. It is the reflexive locking of car doors passing a loitering skateboarder, the unspoken tension in a subway car when hooded youths board, and the cold appraisal of the lanky, silent teenager as a potential vector of chaos—a quiet dread not of weakness or decay, but of raw, ungovernable power wearing a new face.
noun
- An irrational fear of adolescent people.“Such quotes illustrate what I believe has become a historically nurtured and culturally damaging phenomenon: ephebiphobia—the fear of youth. But today this problem is worse than ever.”