-phobia

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-phobia combining_form:in_noun:countable

1. indicating an extreme abnormal fear of or aversion to: acrophobia, claustrophobia

Etymology: via Latin from Greek, from phobos fear

-phobic combining_form:in_adjective

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pho•bi•a /ˈfoʊbiə/   n. [countable] , pl. -bi•as. 

1. Psychiatry a continuous, irrational fear of something that leads to an overwhelming desire to avoid it:
   had a deep phobia about flying.

-phobia, suffix. 

1. -phobia is attached to roots and sometimes words to form nouns with the meaning "dread of, unreasonable hatred toward (a given object)'':
   agora- (= open space) + phobia → agoraphobia (= fear of open spaces);
   xeno- (= foreign) + -phobia → xenophobia (= hatred toward foreigners).

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pho•bi•a  (fō′bē ə), n. 

1. Psychiatry a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it.

• extracted from nouns ending in -phobia 1780–90

Synonyms

aversion, hatred.

-phobia, 

1. a combining form meaning "fear,'' occurring in loanwords from Greek (hydrophobia);
   on this model, used in the names of mental disorders that have the general sense "dread of, aversion toward'' that specified by the initial element:
   agoraphobia.

• Greek, equivalent. to -phob(os) -phobe + -ia -ia
• Latin