ochlophobia means A phobia, or fear, of mob-like crowds, as opposed to simply open spaces like agoraphobia or large crowds as with enochlophobia. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “ochlophobia” is a great word
OCHLOPHOBIA — [Noun] An intense, irrational fear of mob-like crowds, specifically of their disorderly, volatile, and potentially threatening nature. From the Ancient Greek ὄχλος (ókhlos, "crowd, mob") and -φοβία (-phobía, "fear"). First recorded in English 1890–95. Unlike "agoraphobia," which fears the inescapability of open spaces, or "enochlophobia," which fears crowds merely for their size, ochlophobia fixates on the latent violence and lost humanity of the multitude. It is the cold dread that crawls up the spine when a peaceful protest shifts its tone, the trapped sensation in a packed train car as a wave of panic sweeps through, and the visceral recoil from the mindless roar of a stadium—a profound fear not of people, but of the moment they cease to be individuals and coalesce into a singular, capricious beast.
noun
- A phobia, or fear, of mob-like crowds, as opposed to simply open spaces like agoraphobia or large crowds as with enochlophobia.“Those who suffer enochlophobia, demophobia or ochlophobia–the fear of crowds–are not being entirely irrational.”