ˈfōbēə noun
( -s )
Etymology: New Latin, from Late Latin -phobia fear of something, from Greek, from phobos fear, flight + -ia -y; akin to Greek phebesthai to flee, be frightened, Lithuanian bėgti to run, flee
: an exaggerated and often disabling fear usually inexplicable to the subject, having occasionally a logical but usually an illogical or symbolic object, and serving to protect the ego against anxiety arising from unexpressed aggressive impulses — compare compulsion , obsession