phobia
pronunciation
How to pronounce phobia in British English:
UK [ˈfəʊbiə]
How to pronounce phobia in American English:
US [ˈfoʊbiə]
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- Noun:
- an anxiety disorder characterized by extreme and irrational fear of simple things or social situations
Word Origin
- phobia (n.)
- "irrational fear, horror, aversion," 1786, perhaps on model of similar use in French, abstracted from compounds in -phobia, from Greek -phobia, from phobos "fear, panic fear, terror, outward show of fear; object of fear or terror," originally "flight" (still the only sense in Homer), but it became the common word for "fear" via the notion of "panic, fright" (compare phobein "put to flight, frighten"), from PIE root *bhegw- "to run" (cognates: Lithuanian begu "to flee;" Old Church Slavonic begu "flight," bezati "to flee, run;" Old Norse bekkr "a stream"). Psychological sense attested by 1895.
Example
- 1. What are the signs and symptoms of social phobia ?
- 2. This relationship can be characterised as a tragic love affair on the jewish part , which was met with a deep phobia by europe .
- 3. What is it like having social phobia ?
- 4. How is social phobia treated ?
- 5. The teens were also evaluated for social phobia .