pho ‧ bi ‧ a /ˈfəʊbiə $ ˈfoʊ-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Language: Modern Latin ; Origin: Late Latin -phobia , from Greek , from phobos 'fear' ]
a strong unreasonable fear of something
phobia about
Owen has a phobia about snakes.
Some children suffer from school phobia.
—phobic adjective
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ fear a feeling of being frightened:
He was trembling with fear.
|
Fear of failure should not stop you trying.
▪ terror a feeling of great fear, because you think that something terrible is about to happen:
She let out a scream of pure terror.
▪ fright a sudden feeling of fear, or a situation that makes you feel this:
My body was shaking with fright.
|
You gave me a fright!
|
He’s had a bit of fright, that’s all.
▪ panic a sudden feeling of fear or nervousness that makes you unable to think clearly or behave sensibly:
She was in such a panic that she hardly knew what she was doing!
|
There were scenes of sheer panic immediately following the bomb blast.
▪ alarm a feeling of fear or worry which shows in your voice or behaviour, because you think something bad might happen:
When I mentioned her name, he looked up at me in alarm.
|
The streets were calm and there was no sign of alarm.
▪ foreboding /fɔːˈbəʊdɪŋ $ fɔːrˈboʊ-/ a feeling that something bad or unpleasant might happen although there is no obvious reason why it should:
She felt the same sense of foreboding she had before her father died.
▪ phobia /ˈfəʊbiə $ ˈfoʊ-/ a permanent strong unreasonable fear of something:
I had a phobia about going to the dentist.