There is a long list of phobias or fears, many with unpronounceable Greek names. One such fear is the fear of sharp or pointed objects, known as Aichmophobia. The word is derived from Greek word ‘aichmiros’ which means sharp and ‘phobos’ meaning extreme aversion or deep rooted fear.  Most of us fear knives, needles and sharp objects. It makes sense to do so; no one … [Read more...]

If you or someone you know has an intense fear of moonlight, then this brief guide will help you understand it. Selenophobia is an irrational fear of the moon or its light. The word Selenophobia is derived from Greek Selene which stands for moon and phobos meaning anxiety or aversion. For the sufferer, even talking or thinking about the moon can trigger intense fear or … [Read more...]

The mind is a complex thing; man is yet to fully grasp its intricacies. There are many strange and weird sounding phobias in the world and some of them really do exist. Have you heard of Lunaphobia - the fear of being touched by moonlight, of Pupaphobia - the extreme fear of puppets or Biniphobia - the fear of twins? Similarly, a fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof … [Read more...]

Necrophobia is an intense anxiety disorder characterized by the fear of dead bodies or corpses. The word Necrophobia is derived from Greek nekros meaning corpse and phob(os) meaning fear or anxiety. People with this phobia often avoid funerals and wakes as they are terrified of seeing dead bodies. Let us study Necrophobia in detail. Causes of Necrophobia Like all extreme … [Read more...]

We all have things that frighten us or make us uneasy. In case of people with Automatonophobia, the fear is pertaining to human like figures such as dolls, mannequins, robots and so on. The word Automatonophobia comes from Greek autos or automatos which means self-acting and phobos which means aversion or deep fear. Rarely is the fear of human-like figures likely to impact … [Read more...]

Rhabdophobia is the fear of rods or being beaten by rods but in this article we are going to talk about Rhabdophobia as the ‘fear of wands or the fear of magick’. The word ‘rhabdo’ comes from Greek ‘stick/rod/switch’ and the word phobia is derived from Greek phobos meaning fear or deep aversion. People with Rhabdophobia are extremely scared of spell casters, magicians … [Read more...]

If you have Cherophobia, you suffer from fear of gaiety or happiness or fun. You literally have an aversion to happiness. People with Cherophobia believe that if they become happy, they are inviting something negative in their lives. The word Cherophobia is derived from Greek charo which denotes Joy and phobos which is deep aversion or fear. Needless to say that, a person … [Read more...]

Apeirophobia or the fear of infinity is an extreme phobia about eternal or everlasting things such as life, death etc. No one lives forever, but even the very idea of doing so is extremely scary for the individual suffering from it. The word Apeirophobia comes from the Greek word Apeiro which means infinity and phobos which means dread, aversion or fear. Let us study the … [Read more...]

The term Wiccaphobia stands for the fear of witches or fear of witchcraft and is derived from the combination of the Old English word wicca meaning male witch (wicce is female witch) and the Greek word phobos which means deep aversion or fear. Wiccaphobia is a relatively common phobia that has a great deal of historical significance. In this article, we will study the … [Read more...]

Among all the weird phobias that actually exist, Papaphobia or the extreme fear of the pope tops the list. It is not a joke: indeed, the extreme fear of the authority of the pope or papacy may sound bizarre and shocking even, but it does exist. The world Papaphobia originates from Greek word for father, pappas. Papaphobia may sometimes be closely related to … [Read more...]

The fear of pumpkins or Cucurbitophobia is an excessive, irrational and unreasonable fear of, well, pumpkins. The word Cucurbitophobia comes from Latin cucurbita which represents different members of the pumpkin family (Cucurbita maxima). Cucurbitophobia is quite common. Now that Halloween is just round the corner, it is not surprising to see children bursting into … [Read more...]

Deipnophobia or the fear of dining or dinner conversations is one of the unusual but very real phobias that exist to torture people around the dinner table. The word Deipnophobia is derived from Greek ‘deipno’ which can be translated as ‘dinner conversation’ and ‘phobos’ which is ‘aversion’ or ‘deep fear’. Deipnophobia is also believed to be a fear of large meals or … [Read more...]

Ideophobia is the morbid fear of new ideas or thoughts. The word originates from Greek Idėes meaning ideas and phobos meaning deep fear or aversion. In its clearest sense, ideophobia definition is as follows: The fear of ideas is an anxiety disorder characterized by new ideas or a general distrust or irrational fear of a new thought. People living with this fear are not … [Read more...]

Fear of colors is called Chromophobia – a word derived from two Greek words namely Chromos and Phobos which respectively mean color and fear or deep aversion. Note that Chromatophobia or Chromophobia is often denoted as the fear of smells or odors. However, there is another word for fear of smells, which is Osmophobia. So, when we say that someone is a Chromatophobe then … [Read more...]

The morbid fear of sex, sexual intimacy or sexual intercourse is known as Genophobia. Another name for this fear is Erotophobia- a term coined from two Greek words Eros-the Greek God of Love and phobos which means deep fear or aversion. The word Genophobia also comes from the Greek words: Genos meaning offspring and phobos or fear. Most people, men and women, enjoy sex. … [Read more...]