phobia means an irrational, abnormal, or obsessive fear (of something). It carries an Arena rating of 1456, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, phobia ranks #101 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #156 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,317 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #3,468 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
phobia is pronounced /ˈfəʊ.bi.ə/.
Why “phobia” is a great word
An irrational, abnormal, or obsessive fear of a specific object or situation. From the Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos, "fear, flight"), first attested as a standalone word in English circa 1790. Unlike an *aversion*, which is a rational disinclination, or *dread*, a general apprehension of future misfortune, a phobia is a pathological short-circuit of the mind, a sovereign terror that annexes the everyday. It is the paralyzing weight in the chest at the sight of a common spider, the vertigo that claws at the knees on a solid balcony, the silent scream trapped in the throat at the thought of a crowded room—a private, absolute monarchy where fear is the only law, a trapdoor in the floor of ordinary experience.
Etymology
First attested in c. 1790, from words ending in -phobia, ultimately from Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos, “fear”). Compare ism, from -ism, itis, from -itis, and ana, from -ana.
noun
- An irrational, abnormal, or obsessive fear (of something).e.g.“I know someone with a strange phobia of ladders.”
- An aversion or dislike (of something).e.g.“Some patients have the phobia of light, and others have the phobia of darkness. Another common aversion is that of high places. The phobiac of this type can not sit in the gallery […]” — 1914, McClure's Magazine, page 140:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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